MDU Earnings In-Line; Revenues Down 5% Year-Over-Year

MDU earnings in-line with consensus; revenues down 5% year-over-year. Maintains guidance.

Comment: I would have thought that earnings would have been better.

• Almost every other Bakken company reported better earnings
• The recession was worse one year ago; things have improved since then
• Regulated side of the business guarantees some level of stability

I'm still waiting for right time to start getting back into MDU. I'm still raising cash with high-dividend payers. Most recent new holding: WHX.

Later, if I have time, I will go through MDU's earnings statement and see where there are bright spots.

ObamaCare

For those interested, Bloomberg.com provides a nice summary of the new Obama Health Care Program.

Of interest to investors: a new 3.8% tax on investment income.

"No one who makes less than $250,000 will see their taxes increase." -- President Obama

Does the 3.8% applies to all of us or just to those who make more than $250,000? My hunch is that one has to parse the phrasing very, very carefully. The quote says: "makes more." "Makes" means "earns" as in wages or salaries. Obviously, investment income does not fall in that category.

The new 3.8% tax on investment income most likely applies to everyone.

Happy Tuesday to everyone.

Update: September 2, 2010 -- I have to chuckle. When I first posted this, I honestly did not know that the 3.8% was going to apply to oil royalties, and thus, I honestly thought this didn't have much to do with the Bakken, except indirectly, as a tax on all income. However, since this was posted, there have been postings all over the worldwide web about the 3.8% tax on oil royalties. Funny how things work out.

Is the Bakken Over-Hyped? Little Town of Ray Thinks Not

$3.2 million lease for the city of Ray, North Dakota (USA).

Population: 534 in 2000.

This link will probably break soon, requiring a password (paid/free) to search archives.

So, Where Did the Stimulus Money Go

So, where did the stimulus money go?

$1 million on iPod Touch devices for 1,600 students at Kearns High School in Kearns, Utah. No jobs will be created.

A White House official defended the iPod program, saying, "This program is actually an example of a school using cutting-edge technology to enhance learning, while providing cost-effective Internet access to students for research."

Yup. For research ... mostly searching for music  I love Apple and am thrilled the money was spent this way, but no jobs.

I can't make this stuff up.

Slawson Reports Another Nice Well in the Van Hook

18595, Atlantis Federal 1-34-35H, Van Hook, 1,131, long lateral.

Slawson remains one of my favorite companies. They certainly seem to hit a lot of nice wells. Click on Slawson on the sidebar on the right, or click here. 

Slawson now has seven (7) active rigs in North Dakota (August 2, 2010). This is a new high for them; I believe their previous high was five.