Feds: 100 Million Policies Likely To Be Canceled; Floridians Signed Up: 2: "Uh-oh."

Fox News is reporting:

Under the health care law, businesses with fewer than 50 workers do not have to provide health coverage. But if they do, the policies will still have to meet the benefit standards set by ObamaCare. 

An analysis by the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank, shows the administration anticipates half to two-thirds of small businesses would have policies canceled or be compelled to send workers onto the ObamaCare exchanges. They predict up to 100 million small and large business policies could be cancelled next year. 

Uh-oh.

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Speaking of "uh-oh":

Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Sebelius visited South Florida on Tuesday to meet with navigators tasked with assisting Floridians with signing up for Obamacare, Miami’s CBS affiliate reported.  

As the HHS Secretary made the rounds of North Shore Hospital in Miami, she took the time to watch a woman, Carmen Salerno, sign up for health insurance via the online marketplace at healthcare.gov.

But as Sebelius looked on, the system crashed, as has become the norm for the glitch-filled website.

“The screen says I’m sorry but the system is temporarily down,” Brian Andrews, a reporter with CBS4 who was reporting on Sebelius’ visit, noted as he leaned over her shoulder.

The HHS Secretary tried to gracefully brush off the notice, simply saying, “Uh oh,” and Salerno attempted to come to her aide.

The good news, from the same article:

At a news conference held later in the day, Sebelius reported a whopping two more South Floridians had successfully signed up to receive coverage through healthcare.gov in the hours during her visit. She went on to say she recognized the frustration many were feeling because of the malfunctions with healthcare.gov.

I don't think the federal government could have screwed up the health care insurance industry any more had they tried. This is truly incredibly, being excited/relieved/happy over "onesies" and "twosies" successfully signing up. [And, of course, the two lucky folks who signed up can now worry about their identity being stolen by hackers.]

The web site, as you all know, will be considered "working smoothly" if 80% of folks are able to access it. I know in Nigeria, they consider the commercial airline industry "working smoothly" if 80% of airplanes land safely. 

The Number Of North Dakotans Reporting Income Greater Than $1 Million/Year Jumps By 22 Percent; If A Really, Really Good Farm Bill Is Passed, Things Could Be Even Better In 2014; Fargo And Grand Forks In Top Five Fastest Growing US Metro Areas, 2013

 The Bismarck Tribune is reporting:

The number of people reporting seven-figure incomes in oil-rich North Dakota nearly doubled last year and residents' average incomes rose 22 percent to an all-time high, boosted by the state's booming oil economy, state tax officials said. 

"It was a really strong 2012, not only in oil but agriculture across the entire state," Deputy Tax Commissioner Ryan Rauschenberger said Wednesday.
Tax Department figures released to The Associated Press show a record 1,126 people reported incomes of more than $1 million on their 2012 individual tax returns, up from 634 in 2011. Only 339 so-called income millionaires reported incomes of more than $1 million in 2006, at the dawn of North Dakota's unprecedented oil boom.

Tax Department records show the average adjusted gross income in the state increased from $60,947 to $74,221 last year. The average adjusted gross income on 2006 returns was about $43,300.

Rauschenberger said North Dakota has jumped from 38th in the nation in per capita personal income in 2006 to 6th highest in 2012.

The first Bakken well in this boom was drilled in 2007, I believe (again, I'm forgetting all the facts I once knew about the Bakken; stuff is moving too quickly).

On another note, if a really, really good farm bill is passed, things might be even better in 2014. Politico is reporting:

The potato industry and lawmakers have another card up their sleeve in their effort to protect the starchy spuds from those who seek to remove them from federal nutrition programs: a study inserted in the House’s version of the farm bill that could be used to promote their healthful qualities.

The single paragraph is easy to miss in the 701-page House farm bill, tucked away in Section 4051 on Page 388. It would require the Department of Agriculture to “conduct a review of the economic and public health benefits of white potatoes on low-income families who are determined to be at nutritional risk” and report the findings to both the House and Senate Agriculture committees no less than one year after the date of the law’s enactment.

To the untrained eye, Section 4051, referred to simply as the “Review of Public Health Benefits of White Potatoes,” is just another potentially legislatively mandated study. But it’s much more important than that to the National Potato Council, which says it is needed to fight against nutritionists who’ve been using outdated science in an effort to exclude potatoes and potato products from USDA programs intended to feed needy school kids as well as pregnant women, infants and children.

The little I know about nutrition: potatoes are a gazillion times healthier than white rice.  And, I believe healthier than corn. On the latter I could be wrong; on the former I know I am correct.

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Meanwhile, CarpeDiem is reporting:

Looking forward, energy will continue to fuel economic gains this year, and the metro areas of Texas will again top the list of fastest growers; this year they will be joined by Fargo and Bismarck, ND both of which are benefiting from booming growth around the Bakken Shale play. The top five fastest growing metro areas for 2013 are expected to be: Midland (7.3%), Odessa (6.4%), Pascagoula MS (6.3%), Fargo (5.7%) and Bismarck (5.4%). Amazingly, four of the top five metro areas for economic growth this year are directly benefiting from the shale areas fueling the Great American Energy Boom: Midland and Odessa in Texas, and Fargo and Bismarck in North Dakota.

One wonders how many Minnesotans living along the North Dakota state line are simply moving across the river into a low-tax state.

Tesla And Those Battery-Related Fires

Yahoo!Finance is reporting:

There are nearly 90,000 Nissan Leaf electrics on the road, for example, and not one vehicle fire has been reported. General Motors has sold about 50,000 Chevy Volts, and the only known fire occurred three weeks after NHTSA crash-tested one, as battery chemicals unleashed during the test leaked and eventually began smoldering. Altogether, there are nearly 140,000 Leafs and Volts on the road, without a single on-road fire between them. Suddenly, three fires among 19,000 cars doesn't seem so impressive.

This is a very, very interesting article, better than one would expect. For those interested in Tesla, this is one story not to miss.

Increased Drilling In The Parshall

Over at The Bakken Shale Discussion Group, a reader has noted that there seems to be increased driling over in the Parshall ("south of Parshall" to be specific).

I've noticed the same things.

For the past two years, it has been rewarding to compare the development of the Sanish oil field ("owned" by Whiting) and the Parshall oil field ("owned" by EOG). Generally, there has been about seven rigs in the Sanish, and only one rig in the Parshall.

It appears that (and I've blogged about this often):

• Whiting was using the Sanish as a cash cow to cover costs elsewhere
• EOG was early to "hold by production" the entire Parshall, and then moved to explore the Eagle Ford
• now with the Eagle Ford development underway, and new completion techniques in the Bakken resutling in 100% return rate, EOG is ramping up in the Parshall
• telegraphed in EOG's 3Q13 earnings call

Today:

• five rigs in the Sanish
• six rigs in the Parshall (the six rig is right on the edge, and drilling into the Van Hook)

So, yes, EOG is ramping up in the Parshall oil field. The activity is on the western half of the Parshall oil field; the town of Parshall is on the far east side of the field. Three rigs in the Parshall are in the north half; three rigs are in the south, and all six are pretty much along the western edge.

See more at EOG. 

Halcon Is Up Over 3% In Pre-Market Trading

You don't see this often.

Halcon (HK) is trading pre-market.

And it's up over 3% in pre-market trading.

Disclaimer: this is not an investment site. Do not make any investment decisions based on anything you read here or what you think you may have read here.

It took forever to load, but elsewhere the headline says HK's COO bought "another" 20,000 shares.  I cannot vouch for the accuracy of the report.

SandRidge is also up in pre-market trading. Again, one does not expect to see these smaller caps active in pre-market trading. Interesting.