Two North Dakota Cities, #1 and #2, Lowest Unemployment In The United States

From Midland, Texas, comes this news: Lowest unemployment rates in the nation with two cities in North Dakota in #1 and #2 spots.

Bismarck, N.D. 2.3
Fargo, N.D. 2.6
Ames, Iowa 2.7
Iowa City, Iowa 2.8
Lincoln, Neb. 2.9
Logan, Utah 2.9
Sioux Falls, S.D. 2.9 -- I always find this interesting
Midland, TX 2.9 -- the third oil play (after the Bakken and the Eagle Ford)

It's easy to think that the unemployment rate in Bismack/Fargo is due to the Bakken, but obviously the Bakken does not explain the Iowa, South Dakota, or Nebraska cities. Obviously there is something else at work here.  I have a hunch that would connect three dots but I've learned that everyone has an opinion on these sorts of things, so not much use in more idle chatter.

Connecting The Dots? Gray Whale Population Spikes? Natural Predator, The Killer Whale, Is Dying Off?

A record number of gray whales have been seen off the coast of California this past year. The Pacific gray whale breeds/winters over in the lagoons east of Baja California, Mexico, south of San Diego/Tijuana. The gray whales return to the Arctic in February, March, April.

The largest number of southbound migrating gray whales in 31 years was recorded this past December. I happened to post a photo of that information the other day, mostly to brighten the blog.

Now, today, I am sent this link: researchers are puzzled by the high death rate of killer whales off British Columbia, which was posted October 24, 2013.

There is only natural predator of the gray whale: the killer whale (orca). Okay, and humans.

What bothers me most is the cetaceous researchers in British Columbia apparently are not talking with their counterparts in southern California. If the British Columbia researchers think the orcas are decreasing in number,  the first thing they should do is check on the gray whale population. Maybe they have, but the linked article did not say.

A Billion Dollars In Taxable Sales In One Quarter In Williams County -- The Williston Wire -- Williston #1 In Taxable Sales/Purchases For 9th Consecutive Quarter

Mostly headlines only; it is easy enough to subscribe to The Williston Wire.

The state of North Dakota is reporting:

• North Dakota's 3Q13 grew at a moderate pace
• North Dakota's taxable sales and purchases: $6.9 billion, up $166 million from 3Q12
• 13 of 15 sectors showed growth
• only mining and oil extraction (down 19%) and construction (down 2%) did not show growth
• of the 50 biggest cities: Linton, up 28%; New Rockford, up 24%; Hillsboro, up 22%, Oakes, Bowman, and New Town, all up 20% [Bowman and Newtown are in the Bakken]
• the biggest percentage decreases were Stanley, down 12%; Washburn, down 10%; Tioga, down 9%; Larimore, down 7%; and, Williston, down 6%. Except for Washburn and Larimore, all are in the Bakken

Taxable sales and purchases, 3Q13, counties:

• Williams County: $1,190,891,840 (#1)
• Cass County: $858,871,683 (#2)

Taxable sales and purchases, 3Q13, cities:

• Williston: $891,361,828 (#1) (exceeds Cass County); leads for 9th consecutive quarter
• Fargo: $735,166,533 (#2); trails for the 9th consecutive quarter

Three (3) New Permits -- The Williston Basin, North Dakota, USA

Note: Blue Buttes oil field has been updated; look at the total production to date for some of these wells, particularly the ones for which permits were issued in 2012.

A few things before we get to the daily activity report. First, from the MDU message board regarding natural gas and the much-talked about, seldom-experienced polar vortex:

The natural gas draw would have been a lot more if the system could move enough gas for all users. Even here in Minnesota 600 companies shifted to alternate fuels so that there would be enough pressure in the pipelines for residential heating. In New England it has been worse with many companies shifting and a lot of the electricity generation shifting (even to fuel oil). Next week may be a bigger draw than the 157 of today (reflects this week's usage when polar vortex was most widespread) but it is clear the draws would be even higher if nat gas could be supplied to customers that want to use it. 

But be forewarned, some are warning against making fun of the polar vortex in public. A reader sent this link from The New Yorker. This may be enough to get me to renew my subscription to The New Yorker (it lapsed about 35 years ago).

Just in: a 5.1 earthquake rattles Cuba, south Florida. To the best of my knowledge, no fracking is being done in Florida.  As for fracking in Havana? I have no idea.

Now, back to the Bakken.

Active rigs in North Dakota: 193

Three (3) new permits --

• Operators: XTO (2), Whiting
• Fields: Lindahl (Williams), Park (Stark)
• Comments:

Wells coming off the confidential list were posted earlier; see sidebar at the right.

Operator transfer: about 30 wells transferred from Petro Hunt, LLC, to Whiting. The wells/permits were all in McKenzie County, north-central/north-west (Ragged Butte, Pronghorn, Foreman Butte area) extending over to western McKenzie County along/near Montana state line.

Wells coming off confidential list Friday:

• 24459, 1,448, Whiting, Olson 41-18H, Pleasant Hill, t7/13; cum 50K 11/13;
• 24589, 1,941, Whiting, Olson 41-18-2H, Pleasant Hill, t7/13; cum 45K 11/13;
• 25160, drl, CLR, Columbus Federal 3-16H, Baker, no production data,
• 25306, drl, QEP, Paul 1-26-35BH, Grail, no production data,
• 25397, 782, Oasis, Al 5493 41-23B, Robinson Lake, t11/13; cum 11K 11/13;
• 25398, 2.143, Oasis, Sylvia 5493 44-23T, Robinson Lake, t11/13; cum 6K 11/13;
• 25574, drl, Hess, EN-Riersgard 156-93-1718H-4, Alger,
• 25635, 82, Samson Resources, Comet 2635-1H,  Ambrose, t12/13; cum --
• 25683, drl, BR, Rising Sun 31-1TFH-6NH,  Clear Creek, no production data,
• 25750, 54, Legacy, Legacy Et Al Shillander 5-18H, Red Rock, a Spearfish well; t9/13; cum 9K 11/13;
• 25951, drl, BR, Capitol 44-7MBH ULW, Westberg, no production data,

Thursday -- Wall Street Journal, Others

The Wall Street Journal

This is how it will play out: insurance premiums are about to sky-rocket for CBR. This has to be a nightmare for Warren Buffett -- a crude oil train exploding in downtown Omaha.

This is incredibly cool. A few minutes ago I posted a bit on Barnes and Noble, including the Nook. Now, I see, The Wall Street Journal, has a full article focused on the Nook. 

In an interview, Mr. Huseby said figuring out the Nook was one of his top priorities and he said that the retailer no longer sees itself competing with Apple Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. in the tablet marketplace.

But he acknowledged that Barnes & Noble needs to sell its own tablets if it is to retain a decent market share of digital content.

"Your best chance of success for selling digital content is on your own dedicated devices which have your brand or a co-brand on them," Mr. Huseby said. "That's why we're dedicated to providing those devices in both black and white and color."

A key issue, he said, is how much cost associated with making tablets Barnes & Noble wants to shoulder on a permanent basis.

Personally I think it's all over for the Nook. Game, set, match.

The CEO says his top priority is trying to "figure out the Nook." It's fairly simply to figure out. It can't compete with multi-functional tablets. Period.

The CEO says he is looking at how to shoulder the cost: when content sales decrease 30% year-over-year, the writing is on the wall. Barnes and Noble needs to decide what business it is in.

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This is not good. JC Penneys did not provide analysts with holiday sales results. I know when newspapers report "rats leaving a sinking ship," the number of rats leaving is not provided.

It looks like The Wall Street Journal has a continuing series on coal. I haven't read, but just noticing the headlines. Today: scrubbing technology revives Midwest coal. The opening line mentions the "Illinois Basin." In my mind, Illinois is geographically and politically in the East. Whatever. I have no dog in the coal fight.  And this is interesting: coal keeps the Gulf busy.

Now some people in the industry anticipate that the U.S. will become an increasingly significant global supplier of steam coal, which is used to generate electricity. With the domestic market for U.S. steam coal crimped by new environmental rules and competition from natural gas, producers are finding new markets abroad.

Much U.S. steam coal is mined in the Midwest, driving investment in coal-export facilities at Gulf of Mexico ports to meet overseas demand. United Bulk Terminals bought its Davant, La., terminal in 2011 and is investing about $80 million to upgrade it.

The company, a division of Germany's Oiltanking Group, says the work will nearly double the terminal's export capacity to 22 million tons a year. Easy access to the Mississippi River will help make coal from Illinois the "export coal of choice" in a world market growing hungrier for steam coal, says a United Bulk spokesperson.

The Los Angeles Times

This is why the market is struggling: the deficit is falling too fast. I can't make this stuff up.  

The capital may be enduring a brief spell of record-low temperatures this week, but the federal deficit continues to melt away. According to the latest figures from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, the red ink for the first quarter of fiscal 2014, which began Oct. 1, dropped by almost 40% compared with the same period a year earlier.

The deficit has gone down so much that the federal government actually ran a surplus for December — a one-time occurrence that resulted from some special circumstances but still an indicator of the rapidly improving state of the government’s finances.

Indeed, many prominent economists, including outgoing Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, have suggested that the deficit is now coming down too fast. At a news conference last month, Bernanke said fiscal policy had been too tight recently — central bank jargon for suggesting that with the economy still operating below capacity, a somewhat higher deficit over the next year would help, not hurt.

The politicians have just been given the green light to spend more money as we go into the 2014 election cycle. And whenever the government spends, the "market" goes up. It's going to be a fantastic 2014.

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