More Good Economic News? Genesee & Wyoming Traffic Doubles Year-Over-Year; Ford To Open Three New Manufacturing Plants In 2014 -- Will Launch The Most Vehicles Globally In A Single Year Than In More Than A Century

Genesee & Wyoming reports traffic for November 2013: carloads increased 102.9% to 152,308: Co's traffic in November 2013 was 152,308 carloads, an increase of 77,260 carloads, or 102.9%, compared to G&W's traffic in November 2012, and an increase of 7,826 carloads, or 5.4%, compared to total November 2012 carloads pro forma for the RA acquisition. G&W's traffic in the fourth quarter of 2013 through November was 316,137 carloads, an increase of 160,848 carloads, or 103.6%, compared to G&W's traffic in the fourth quarter of 2012 through November, and an increase 17,537 carloads, or 5.9%, compared to total fourth quarter of 2012 through November carloads pro forma for the RA acquisition.

Ford Motor to drive growth in 2014 with additional jobs, three new worldwide plants, and 23 global product launches: Co next year will launch 23 new vehicles to customers around the world, open three more manufacturing facilities and add more than 5,000 new jobs in the United States to meet growing demand for its products. Other points of note:

• Ford in 2014 will launch the most vehicles globally in a single year than in more than a century 
• To support its aggressive growth strategy, Ford is set to open two manufacturing facilities in Asia Pacific and one in South America

This Will Be Interesting To Watch Play Out

Under ObamaCare, insurance companies are on the hook for unlimited liability.

Now, the government is pressuring the insurance companies to provide unlimited coverage even if they (the insurers) do not get paid their premiums. What's not to like?

Peak Oil? What Peak Oil?

By 2040, Exxon says, 65 percent of the world's recoverable crude oil will still be in the ground.

And other musings over at Rigzone.

Why I Love To Blog: Reason #34,098

Some time ago, way off topic, for the granddaughters, I wrote a piece on "the next big thing" and Netflix was a big part of that original post. Today we learned that Netflix earned more Golden Globe nominations than CBSNCBABC combined -- at  least that's the Drudge link; no reason to doubt it, but I'm not going to check. I'm not a detail person; I'm more interested in the big picture.

December, 2013, Could Be One Of The Coldest Since 1983, The Benchmark For Cold Decembers -- WSJ; Only One Well Coming Off Confidential List Friday

Global warming, 2013, from The Wall Street Journal, sent in by a reader:

Bentek Energy, owned by McGraw Hill Financial Inc., estimates that natural-gas demand averaged 111 billion cubic feet a day between Dec. 6 and Thursday, the second-highest figure since the company began tracking consumption in January 2005.

Supplies have been further stretched as the chill froze equipment in gas fields across Texas and other states, limiting production.

This December could be one of the coldest since 1983, the "benchmark for cold Decembers," said Jim Southard, meteorologist for Frontier Weather Inc. in Tulsa, Okla. Midwestern states could see temperatures as low as 30 degrees below average in the days leading up to Christmas, helping support natural-gas prices.

Of course this article had to do with the price of natural gas, but it certainly provided point-counterpoint to Algore's PowerPoint presentations on global warming. 

The only well coming off the confidential list Friday:

• 25372, drl, OXY USA, George Palmer 1-11-141-94, Wildcat, no production data; this well is southeast of Murphy Creek, where there is almost no activity (a true wildcat); OXY USA had another wildcat in this section targeting the TFS, a long horizontal, but it is "temporarily abandoned" while OXY USA "plans what to do with it."