Oil Up $1.40 -- Oil Is Trading Like the Fuel of the Future -- For Investors Only

Oil is the fuel of the past -- the President

Algae is where the future lies

Updates

Later: I guess when the President speaks, God listens. A 120-mile algae plume can be seen from space.  Wow, you can't make this stuff up.

The Great Wall of China has company. It is a 120-mile-wide, bright green bloom that has been discovered floating in the ocean off the coast of Antarctica. It's a sea of algae, and it is visible from space. Scientists in Australia discovered the bloom in satellite photos taken more than 400 miles away. The giant growth most likely sprouted because of heavy winds during Antarctica's summer that blew snow into the water. There's a lot of iron in the snow, and the algae has thrived on it. The bloom has become a sort of cafeteria for aquatic animals such as whales, penguins, seals, and fish. But eventually it will disappear on its own and shouldn't have any negative environmental impact.

Why would there be any negative environmental impact? The writer says it's become a cafeteria for penguins and seals, and it's the energy of the future.

Original post

The jump in the oil price today, frankly, surprises me. There is no news. The Greece play has played out. The market has already priced in the 2.6 million Iranian bbls of oil taken off the market. It will take six months for the Israelis to get "bunker busters" and refueling planes from the US. The strength of the dollar has not changed; if anything, it's up slightly against the euro today. The dollar is having one of its best days -- just on CNBC -- a significantly stronger dollar. The unemployment rate did not change; the few added jobs did not move the needle.

The tickers at the right, on the sidebar, are pretty much all green. CVX is 75 cents from an all-time high -- not a 52-week high, but an all-time high. KOG is testing $10 again, right at $9.99 now.

11:00 a.m. EST -- oil up $1.40 on the television crawler.

As noted elsewhere, I don't care for Motley Fool, but how could I pass up on this one: according to one of their contributors, DNR is the best oil company investment.  Note: I do not hold or trade in DNR. I have no connection with DNR. I have a close friend who has told me numerous times, however, that DNR is one of his favorite companies. DNR has a unique niche in the oil and gas industry. Again, this is not an investment site; see disclaimer.

Unemployment Does NOT Improve; Still At 8.3% Nationwide

Yahoo: Trend Emerges -- Meaningful Growth Emerges -- What!

Yes, this is the trend: unemployment is stuck at twice the norm two years after the stimulus 
Jobs recession, 49 months: longest since WWII (link here)

Link here.

When something happens once, it's a phenomenon. When something happens twice, it's a coincidence. When something happens three times, it's a trend. That's an old journalistic rule of thumb. And by that rule, February's employment report confirmed that we have a trend of decent employment growth.

The headline number showed that the economy created a net 227,000 jobs in February. When the economy began to create jobs in significant numbers, analysts frequently pointed out that a job creation rate of 150,000 per month was barely enough to keep up with population growth, and wasn't enough to make a dent in unemployment. Now we're finally getting that growth. February marked the third straight month in which payroll jobs rose by more than 200,000. Gains could be seen in a range of industries: professional and business services, manufacturing, and health care. The construction and retail trade sectors shed positions.

By the way, I missed the full discussion, but CNBC talking heads Jim and Michelle didn't spin the story: they were commenting on fact that a) solar was not a job creator; and, b) specifically, killing the Keystone was a job killer. A job killer. Period. Dot. Not rocket science. Good for Michelle and Jim.

It sounds like Michelle and Jim had just read the CarpeDiem story, same thoughts. 

By the way, my hunch is that the Yahoo reporter posting the linked story above drives a Volt with an "Obama for President" bumper sticker.

Dickinson May Not Like Men Living Together But Officials Certainly Praise the Wages

Link here to the Dickinson Press. 

Stark County companies pay the big bucks for mining and oil and gas extraction. The county paid the highest wages in the third quarter of 2011, allowing employees to pocket more than $2,000 a week, according to a Job Service North Dakota report released Tuesday.
 
Average weekly wages for mining have increased steadily from 1990 to 2008. Wages suddenly jumped from about $1,350 in the 2008 third quarter to almost $1,550 in 2009. Those wages increased by another $200 in 2010.

Update on the New Dickinson't Man-Camp

Just across the county line

Remember that story about Dickinson't killing a state-of-the-art, professionally-run Logistics Target man-camp.

Logistics built it just north of Dickinson't across the county line. Looks pretty impressive. In the big scheme of things, not a big deal except for scores of unnecessary miles driven every day.

A Feel Good Story To Brighten One's Friday

Unable to restart the $100,000 Fisker Karma

Consumer Reports bought the Fisker Karma from a Connecticut dealer.

CR takes it for the speed test. While gently moving through 65 mph, the "engine light" comes on. CR completes the speed test, brings it back to the center to park it. Moments later, it would not restart.

On Wednesday, Consumer Reports engineers were just starting to calibrate the Karma's speed by driving 65 miles per hour down the magazine's test track in East Haddam, Connecticut, Champion said.

"During the gentle run down the track, a light on the dashboard came on," he said, referring to the battery light.

The speed test was completed despite the light on the control panel, but after it was parked, officials were unable to get the car restarted. A spokesman for A123 Systems, which makes the Karma batteries, could not be reached. 

Champion, who called the Karma "gorgeous looking,"  said problems with new technology is not surprising.

But it sure looks gorgeous sitting there. I can't make this stuff up.

The question is whether AAA is trained to re-start Fisker Karmas.

Thank you to a reader for alerting me to this. I had to do some valet parking this morning and all cars started without a hitch. No, a Fisker was not among them.