Thursday, April 4, 2024

Closing The Loop On Buffett On Paramount -- April 4, 2024

Locator: 46920BUFFET.

Tag: Paramount, PARA, TSM.

Is it just me or does it seem Buffett is having a string of bad luck: SNOW, TSM, PARA.

I don't recall if it was in a series of e-mails in a sidebar conversation or if I talked about it on the blog. But it was my belief that Buffett was making a mistake when he began acquiring Paramount.  Things started to fall apart a couple of months ago when it was revealed he was starting to sell off his position. Today, more bad news for Paramount. Tag: Skydance.

 I occasionally track Buffett here.

WTI At $87; Two New Permits; Six Permits Renewed; Grayson Mill With Several Dry Holes -- April 4, 2024

Locator: 46919B.

War! Oil surges! Iran to attack Israel?

Enbridge: wins approval to commence service on Louisiana Venice natgas pipe project. Link here.

The Venice extension was designed to supply gas to Venture Global LNG's Plaquemines LNG export plant in Louisiana, which is under construction and expected to enter service between 2024 and 2026.
December 15, 2024: Plaquemines up and running. Link here.

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Back to the Bakken

Active rigs: 37.

WTI: $86.92 ... let's call it $87!

Two new permits, #40642 and #40643:

  • Operators: MRO, Enerplus
  • Field: Bailey (Dunn County); Eagle Nest (McKenzie)
  • Comments:

Six permits renewed:

  • Kraken: three Turbodiesel and three Apollo permits, Big Stone, Williams County;

Permit reinstatement:

  • 40362, Grayson Mill, Scott 13-24 10TFH,

Dry hole:

  • 40421, Grayson Mill, Scott 13-24 XW 1H,
  • 40431, Grayson Mill, Scott 13-24 7H,
  • 40423, Grayson Mill, Scott 13-24 8H,

Oh-Oh -- Here We Go -- April 4, 2024

Locator: 46918B.

Pay attention to Lousiana Light Sweet -- some see LLS as a proxy for Bakken (also light sweet). Difference of course is proximity to refiners.

Permian: existing wells break even at $37.

Gasoline demand, link here:

Tickers at the close:

  • CVX: up slightly; pretty much flat
  • DVN: down 23 cents;
  • MPC: up $1.32;
  • EPD: down 12 cents;

Market spooked by one of the Fed presidents saying "what's wrong with higher for longer?"

Two Views -- Same Data -- Different Interpretations -- April 4, 2024

Locator: 46917ARCHIVES.

The market the past year:

Bankruptcy rates:

US oil exports:

Another perspective:

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Meanwhile At Trader Joe's

"4-buck Chuck." Based on the empty shelf to the right, it does appear former President Trump is correct with regard to broken supply chains.


I don't know if my wife has ever visited Trader Joe's! LOL. I'm sure she has, but if so, it's been a long time. Me? I probably haven't been to Trader Joe's in the past two years, maybe even perhaps not since before Covid.

What a pleasant visit today. I didn't buy any wine but a must-try seasoning:

Just in time for summer.

Demographics -- The Southern Surge -- April 4, 2024

Locator: 46917ECONOMY.

Updates

April 7, 2024, link here:

The daily march of migrants across the Southern border has been a political curse for President Joe Biden. But for the economy, it may have turned out to be a blessing.

By adding millions of new workers to the labor market, the immigration surge has lifted payrolls and growth, and potentially helped keep a lid on consumer prices, according to recent research. Capitol Hill’s budgeteers also think it stands to reduce the deficit in the coming years.

In an analysis published earlier this week, Ernie Tedeschi, a former Biden White House economist, found that the post-pandemic pickup in immigration accounted for at least one-fifth of the increase in U.S. gross domestic product since the end of 2019. Though it wasn’t the only factor, the boost from migrants helped explain why the American economy has bounced back much more strongly than those of other developed countries, he argued.

This is so incredible. I first talked about this in a post on July 23, 2022, almost two years ago.  

In the [2024 - 2009 = ] fifteen years since I've been blogging, I've done four deep-dives of which I'm most proud:

  • Netflix: "the next big thing"
  • Devon: best operator in the Permian
  • Nvidia: I pivoted from energy to semiconductor chips
  • the Southern Surge: the $7 trillion gift

Original Post

That southern surge. The $7 trillion gift. Link here.


The linked Barron's story.

The U.S. fertility rate peaked in 2007 at 2.12 children per woman.
It is expected to level out this year at 1.70 births per woman, and remain there through 2054.
Demographics and aging trends could create significant headwinds for economic growth, as aging populations historically have experienced declines in work, productivity, and spending. But the news isn’t all bad, says Matthias Doepke, an economics professor ... with a title so long it won't fit on two lines.....
The future isn’t written in stone, he notes, while the experience of other countries in similar straits should offer the U.S. a road map to maximizing opportunities and avoiding pitfalls.
Doepke has spent much of his career studying how political and cultural changes affect economic development, with a focus on how macroeconomic conditions influence fertility choices. He recently spoke with Barron’s about the impact of demographic changes on the labor market, and the so-called demographic dividend.

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Reposting From Last Month

It started here.

Locator: 46813IMMIGRATION.

From a while ago, link here. Note how far Biden moved the unemployment rate to a better number over the last three years (his first year numbers were "Trump's numbers").

The $7-trillion gift.


Link here.



Those states that best manage the new immigrants will do best.