Notes From All Over, Part 2 -- December 26, 2019

Market today: more evidence of FOMO.

Soybeans:

Pork: this was not a goodwill gesture. LOL. Trump won; China blinked. CNBC saw it differently. Surprise. surprise.

Notes From All Over, Part 1 -- Boxing Day, 2019

It seems not a whole lot is not mentioned at least once on the blog. LOL.

Garum.

A couple of days ago I'm reading one of those articles used as clickbait: archaeologist solve Roman Empire mystery with 500 letters discovered near Hadrian's Wall, from  The [London] Express. 

[NOTE: if you click on that link it will slow down your computer.]“

Among the meany treasures, archaeologists have uncovered around 500 letters sent to and from Roman troops based at the fort [along Hadrian's Wall].

“Many contain requests for favourite foods from back home, the find reveals that, even here, soldiers were being sent a variety of goods from their home countries.

“Among the most sought after products was garum.” At the time of their discovery, the tablets were the oldest surviving handwritten documents in Britain.

Garum. I've mentioned it at least twice on the blog.

Garum: fermented fish sauce, much like we use soy sauce or ponzu sauce.

Japanese sauces.

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California Bans Per-Minute Billing

This will be an interesting story to follow. Link here.

On December 16, 2019, California’s Office of Administrative Law approved amendments to its Electric Vehicle Fueling Systems Specifications. Effective January 1, 2020, these new rules ban operators of electric vehicle charging stations from billing by the minute.

This is a huge blow to Electrify America and EVgo.

Both firms bill by the minute for EV charging, leaving drivers with sticker shock and feeling ripped off by the end of the session. Chargepoint will also be negatively affected, as many of their site-host partners choose to bill per minute.

And while Tesla already bills by the kilowatt-hour, California will also be requiring charging stations to physically display “on their face” important information about electricity cost and delivery, a move that will put the most burden on Tesla’s Supercharger stations.

In the lead-up to the rule, charging network operators repeated their usual arguments about “selling a service” versus selling electricity, but California wasn’t having any of it:

The Department acknowledges this group of comments and disagrees with the interpretation of the primary commodity being traded. As defined in BPC § 13400(a)(4) and (p), electricity is considered a type of motor vehicle fuel.

NIST Handbook 44 makes clear what the unit of measure of electricity as motor vehicle fuel dispensed from EVSE shall be measured by — either the kWh or the megajoule (MJ).

The Department concludes that the primary commodity delivered by EVSE is electricity, not parking space accessibility, parking space rental time, or accessibility to the EVSE itself. The Department considers those as “other services” of the transaction.

The Department clarifies that time is not an acceptable unit of measure for dispensing and billing electricity as motor vehicle fuel.

Idle Rambling On The 2019 Tax Law -- December 26, 2019

Love him or hate him, President Trump really shakes things up. I am absolutely fascinated by the overhaul of the voluntary retirement "system" -- which I track here. There are so many story lines:

• how this happened during a period of such political divisiveness
• for such a big change, it seemed to be off everyone's radar scope
• it passed with such little fanfare, it suggests "everyone" supported the change
• the tax revenue does not explain the reason for the overhaul
• imagining "who" spearheaded the change
• sorting out winners and losers
• why was only the traditional IRA targeted for major changes?

Now another piece of the puzzle, from Barron's: Roth conversions to get SECURE boost. Link here. It may be behind a paywall but one can access it while visiting one's local Starbucks.

As Barron’s previously reported, advisors should be aware of several key provisions in the Secure Act, including the elimination of the stretch IRA.

IRA beneficiaries, with certain exceptions, will have to take distributions over 10 years rather than over the course of their lifetimes. It’s this provision that could cause the Roth IRA boom.

Converting a traditional IRA to a Roth could significantly reduce an inheritor’s future tax bill. The strategy is worth considering by people with IRA savings of $1 million or more who plan to pass it on to someone other than their spouses. Beneficiaries can let the money accumulate tax-free in a Roth.

It's interesting the way that article is phrased:

As Barron’s previously reported, advisors should be aware of several key provisions in the Secure Act, including the elimination of the stretch IRA. 

That seems to be THE key provision.

The change in the age for RMDs is also of note, but I see that as a compromise to get this bill passed. 

This is the big question: if this was an "overhaul" of the voluntary retirement system, why was only the traditional IRA targeted. I may be wrong, but it seems that the Roth IRA, the 401(k), and the TSP (one of the most incredible retirement programs ever, and this for federal and military employees).

The sponsors and the lobbyists probably thought changing the traditional IRA rules was taking a big gamble and going after changes in the others would have been a bridge too far.

Activity On The Whiting Tarpon Federal Pad -- December 26, 2019

This page will not be updated.

There's activity on the Whiting Tarpon Federal pad.

One well has gone from drl status to SI/NC; a second well has gone from loc to drl status. Paperwork lags what is going on in the field so it's possible at least another well on this pad has been drilled to depth.

Two Whiting Tarpon Federal wells have gone for the half-million crude oil mark:

• 20589, 4,815, Tarpon Federal 21-4H, t10/11, Twin Valley, t10/11; cum 631K 10/19;
• 22361, 4,971, Tarpon Federal 21-4-3H, t12/12, Twin Valley; t12/12; cum 584K 10/19;

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For The Granddaughters
The family is on their cross-country trip to Louisville, KY, to see Josh's family.

For the past year or so, Sophia has been consistent in her requests for a unicorn. She said she would settle for a "stuffed buddy" while waiting for the real thing.

Incredibly, Santa found the most precious unicorn in some out-of-the-way place, maybe a prop at a furniture story. Details are murky, but we do know it did not come from Santa's Workshop #1.

The family departed about 8:30 p.m. local time last evening. They stayed overnight in Little Rock, Arkansas.

The blemish on her right forearm is the remnants of a temporary tattoo.

Twenty Wells Yet To Be Reported This Week -- December 26, 2019

Active rigs:

$61.16	12/26/2019	12/26/2018	12/26/2017	12/26/2016	12/26/2015
Active Rigs	56	68	53	41	62

Twenty wells yet to be reported this week: see this post.

RBN Energy: IMO 2020 finally arrives, not with a bang, but a whimper. Color me surprised. LOL.

It’s been more than three years since the International Maritime Organization (IMO) fully committed to the January 1, 2020, implementation of IMO 2020, a rule that slashes the allowable sulfur content in bunker fuel used in the open seas around most of the world from 3.5% to only 0.5%.

There’s been a lot of angst in the interim, most of it regarding the changes in crude slates, refinery operations and fuel blending needed to meet a flip-of-a-switch spike in global demand for low-sulfur bunker. Also, shippers worried that prices for rule-compliant fuel would go through the roof. Well, it turns out that the transition period in the months leading up to the IMO 2020 era has been largely drama-free. Supplies of very low-sulfur fuel oil (VLSFO) and marine gasoil (MGO) — the bunker most ships will now use — have been building in most places, prices are up but moderating, and while there may be a few hiccups as ships shift to new, cleaner fuels, life will go on. Heck, life will likely be even better for most complex U.S. refineries, which can churn out large volumes of low-sulfur refined products and which will have access to price-discounted high-sulfur “resid” as an intermediate feedstock.

Today, we take a big-picture look at the global bunker market as IMO 2020’s implementation day approaches.