Notes From All Over, Part 1 -- December 15, 2019

Grinnell oil field has been updated: tracked here.

Actions have consequences: Remember those folks protesting crude oil pipelines on the west coast of Canada? Yeah, those folks.

They're driving into the US to buy cheap gasoline. LOL.

Link here. Data points:

• prices at the pump in British Columbia have hit an all-time high
• a fifth of BC drivers are now driving into Washington State for "cheap" gasoline
• at some border crossings, two of five drivers have said they have visited the US solely to buy gasoline
• British Columbia Utilities Commission did the study; unable to explain the difference in price between US gasoline and BC gasoline -- LOL -- they said with a straight face 

Sam Zell is buying distressed oil assets. Source.

WTI: tonight, 8:10 p.m. CT, Decebmer 15, 2019 -- $59.85.

The wrecking crew:

From the DVD, the Wrecking Crew
Politics:

The NY Times admits: when a GOP president resigns under threat of impeachment (Nixon), the system works. But when impeachment efforts against a GOP president fails -- and fails spectacularly -- the system does not work. By the way, it's interesting which articles The NY Times does not keep behind its pay wall. In other news, Senator Schumer is delusional if he things Mitch McConnell is going to let him (Schumer) run the trial. LOL.

Streaming television. Link here: https://www.foxbusiness.com/technology/hulu-live-tv-prices-rise.

• Hulu: will raise subscription costs from $44.99 to $54.99; ad-free versions, $60.99; most expensive live TV streaming service option currently on the market; second increase this year!
• YouTube: $49.99/month
• Sling TV: $25/month;
• ATT: $50/month
• Disney: $6.99/month or $69.99/year
• Netflix: $12.99/month; premium, $15.99/month
• Apple TV+: $5/month; $50, annual;
• other streaming platforms falling by the wayside
• Sony recently announced that it is ending their PlayStation Vue live TV service as of January 30, 2020;

Embarrassed much? EV manufacturers still not reporting sales.

We'll be reporting 2019 Q4 EV Sales beginning Thursday, January 2 and/or Friday, January 3, and continuing throughout the following week. However, it's important to note that there will still be some missing data since many automakers refuse to report EV sales. Nonetheless, stay tuned in the coming days as we'll be beginning to add automaker reported numbers to the chart for the last few months.

Note that BMW has decided for some time to no longer give model breakdowns or a final EV number, but rather a percentage decrease YoY, which has been huge in the last few months. But now, the automaker isn't even sharing its EV sales numbers/percentage at all. Still, i3 and i8 numbers will be official as reported by BMW.

Mercedes: after disappointing sales by other European luxury brands, Mercedes will delay launching US EVs until 2021; previously planned to launch in 2020; sources.

A Trifecta? A Turkey? A Hat-Trick? -- December 15, 2019

Berkshire Hathaway: Perhaps the best: one short of a golden sombrero. LOL.

I really don't care one way or the other, but only because his $130 billion in cash has everyone talking, I thought I would chime in. It's tough being at the top -- all of us peons taking pot shots at Warren, LOL.

Three strikes:

• first, he missed out on a $5 billion acquisition of Tech Data; wouldn't get in a bidding war.
• second, did he miss the biggest whale of them all, the $26 billion Ameritrade deal?
• and now, third, one of his stars has abruptly (?) left Berkshire Hathaway. From Yahoo!Finance:

Buffett’s real estate brokerage, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, lost one of its biggest stars to rival Keller Williams Realty -- in its own backyard.

The new office for the departing CEO of Omaha’s Real Estate Group, Jeff Cohn, and his 35-person team is just a 15-minute drive from Buffett’s five-bedroom home in Omaha, Nebraska.

Sunday night futures mean squat, as they say, but it's always nice to see green. Dow is up about 30 points in tonight's futures (6:03 p.m. CT, December 15, 2019).

Powerline: This Week In Pictures -- December 15, 2019

Link here for this week in pictures.

But, first things first, Dallas Cowboys at 3:00 p.m. CST. Today. Fox.

Until today, I never knew this was "a thing."

The real reason Rex Tillerson resigned. LOL. From BusinessInsider -- are you kidding?

TDS.

By the way, an obvious and appropriate reason for different size shakers.

The rest of the week in pictures, Powerline.

Trucking: 2019 Update -- December 15, 2019

Trucking.

Two stories. Same data.

First, the one from Fox: trucking companies failing at nearly the rate of 2018 -- link: https://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/trucking-companies-failing-at-nearly-triple-the-rate-of-2018. Poor on overall statistics and background.

Second, the one from The WSJ: trucking market will absorb Celadon shutdown.Whether it's accurate or not, the WSJ article seems to have more supporting data, better analysis.

Texas Chop House -- Very Little About The Bakken Except In Passing -- Grilling -- December 15, 2019

First things first: the Weber Vortex.

Texas steak: To the best of my knowledge I have never visited a "high-end" steak house. Last night, compliments of a reader, thank you very, very much -- I was treated to a 5-star evening at the Mercury Chop House in Arlington, TX, ninth floor overlooking the city and overlooking Dallas. A tremendous evening. I had the ribeye, something I don't recall having had in the past several decades. One needs to remember that I spent most of my life overseas where steak was seldom on the menu.

I had so much fun talking about the Bakken with my host (from 7:00 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.) that I had little time to fully appreciate the meal. With steak this good, I did not want to rush through it. I don't eat much at any one sitting to begin with, so, I had most of my ribeye to take home and enjoy while watching the Redskins - Eagles and sipping Japanese scotch. (My wife could not believe how good it was, and, said, yes, I could take here to the Mercury for our wedding anniversary. LOL.)

Later, Sophia comes over.

Some days it just seems life is too short.

The downside: I am now "hooked" on the Texas chop house. LOL.

My host last night: in another life he was a bartender extraordinaire. Now, a Bakken acolyte. We talked about family, life, and lots of Bakken. We didn't talk enough about our shared alma mater; next time, perhaps. The Bakken did not dominate the conversation. Scandinavian background; family; visits to Williston; and grilling. That's the reason for the "first things first, Weber Vortex" note above. We talked grilling about as much as anything else (except shale oil) but we didn't mention the Vortex. So, enough of that. A great evening.

By the way, speaking of bartending, my host corroborated all I understood about the martini, giving me two tips of which I was not aware. One of the two tips: the onion. The other tip: about the preparation of the martini with regard to vermouth. Very similar to what Churchill might have said.