Brent Nyitray
Fairlington Blade
Let the mutherfuker burn!
jnc4p
Kevin S. Willis
Michigoose
lmsinca
markinaustin
Arcanaut
novahockey
quarterback
ScottC
yellojktVital Statistics:
| Last | Change | Percent | |
| S&P Futures | 1292.7 | 3.4 | 0.26% |
| Eurostoxx Index | 2397.8 | 1.190 | 0.05% |
| Oil (WTI) | 101.93 | 1.220 | 1.21% |
| LIBOR | 0.5612 | -0.001 | -0.20% |
| US Dollar Index (DXY) | 80.634 | -0.480 | -0.59% |
| 10 Year Govt Bond Yield | 1.85% | 0.00% |
Futures are up slightly on earnings and a lack of market-moving news out of Europe. Bond geeks will note that EURIBOR / OIS (a measure of stress in the banking system) has been moving lower since the year began. It is at 84 basis points, having dropped from 101 basis points six weeks ago. ECB funding probably explains some of it, but it is a welcome sign and helps explain the more sanguine mood of Mr. Market recently.
Goldman reported better than expected results this morning based on cost cuts. Compensation fell 21% and staff decreased 7%. On cue, William Cohan was on Bloomberg TV this morning complaining that Wall Street comp is still 50% too high. US Bancorp also reported better than expected earnings.
The Producer Price Index came in a little hot, but still subdued. PPI ex food and energy was up .3% MOM and 3.0% YOY. Inflation is still a non-issue as far as the Fed is concerned. Tomorrow will be a big economic day with CPI, Housing Starts and Initial Jobless Claims. No report tomorrow as I will be in the city all day.
EDIT: More bullish economic data: Capacity Utilization increased again to 78.1% and the NAHB Homebuilder sentiment index increased to 25, confirming what the homebuilders have been saying on their conference calls.
Filed under: Earnings Announcements, Economic data, Economy, eurozone, Financial Crisis, Homebuilding, Morning Report, stock market, Wall Street | Tagged: EURIBOR |
All Things in Moderation 
Congrats lmsinca, you won.
“Obama administration to reject Keystone pipeline
By Juliet Eilperin and Steven Mufson, Wednesday, January 18, 11:39 AM
The Obama administration will announce this afternoon it is rejecting a Canadian firm’s application for a permit to build and operate a massive oil pipeline across the U.S.-Canada border, according to sources who have been briefed on the matter.
However the administration will allow TransCanada to reapply after it develops an alternate route through the sensitive habitat of Nebraska’s Sandhills. Deputy Secretary of State William J. Burns will make the announcement, which comes in response to a congressionally-mandated deadline of Feb. 21 for action on the proposed Keystone pipeline.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/2012/01/18/gIQAwoVE8P_story.html?hpid=z1
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obama will find another way to reject it.
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Congrats lmsinca, you won.
Maybe…………..I think the people whose land and water this was going to affect are the winners. As in most things there are less ominous alternatives that just need to be thought out more carefully. I’m actually in favor of developing methods of extraction and transportation of domestic oil, but not at the expense of the health and safety of the surrounding community. Most of the people making these decisions should be from the scientific community, not politicians, imo. I thought, from what I read, that the balance of benefit vs. cost was out whack on this project.
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Why shouldn’t scientists, business leaders, and politicians all get involved? Everybody is going to be impacted one way or another, and everybody has ideas. They should all be involved in hammering it out, and coming up with a solution. In cases where we say “No, you can’t do this” there ought to be a “because” attached, so those reasons could at least theoretically be addressed.
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lms:
I’m actually in favor of developing methods of extraction and transportation of domestic oil, but not at the expense of the health and safety of the surrounding community.
If the wider nation is going to benefit, why isn’t the surrounding community wiling to sacrifice its own well-being? Wouldn’t that be the altruistic thing to do?
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That’s a joke right?
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That’s a joke right?
Seems like an interesting question, to me. When determining what is best for the community, somebody’s ox is going to get gored. Ideally, we find a way to extract resources with minimum impact, but if you extract somewhere, it’s going to impact someone, just as if you don’t extract, it will impact someone. No free lunch and all that. So at what point do we say that the economic health of a community is more or less important that it’s environmental health, or other factors that are impacted by doing or not doing something
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Kevin I already discussed the idea above that cost/benefit needs to be balanced. I was asking scott this question based upon a discussion from a previous thread. I do agree the decision needs to be brokered between several entities which I assume it would be…..I just trust scientists a little more when we’re dealing with the oil industry. They don’t have a great track record in every instance.
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This rejection is politics. It’s a response to the House’s mandate that it accept or reject the pipeline within 60 days. This is kabuki. There is no way the unions will let this die. I expect that after the 2012 election it suddenly “satisfiy’s” the State Department.
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I’ll go farther and say the preparation and work on the pipeline continues. Somewhere, Austin Goolsbee is telling Harper not to worry a la Obama’s NAFTA promise to (snicker) reopen the negotiations. Nobody beleived then but the rubes.
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TMW, I also think that the way it stands, State APPROVED the pipeline.
Justice delayed, but will not be denied.
LMS, you know I think there is no environmental impact worth mentioning here, except in Alberta. The only pipeline question is whether heating the thing in winter on the high plains will cost more than the dirty crude is worth.
What we finally decide here will not affect the Canadian decision to mine the sands.
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By the way, I saw a delicious Tweet from Tim Carney that the Wiki/Reddit/Wordpress protest is Political Corporate Speech. If so, should it be banned? If not, why not?
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” Wiki/Reddit/Wordpress protest is Political Corporate Speech. If so, should it be banned? If not, why not?”
Issue advocacy candidate advocacy
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Sigh. WordPress interpreted my not equals characters as an empty HTML tag.
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McWing, I could be wrong but it’s my understanding that while TransCanada is free to re-apply, the process could take years so I thought it was more of an issue with Congress forcing the State Department to make a decision. The protests in Canada are raising problems for the alternative up there. Who knows? I wasn’t under the impression that the job creation numbers were particularly high so I’d have to revisit that issue.
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Haaaaahaaaa, anyone who wants a job with the oil industry can just go to Midland, TX, they’re expanding exponentially. Not sure where everyone will live as there’s a housing shortage but I heard through the grapevine that Chevron alone is looking for hundreds of workers. Heads up people.
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Are they hiring chemical engineers? Because my son graduates in May.
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I’m sure he could get in there somewhere yello. Seriously, when my daughter was there last summer they were dying for people. I’m not sure where he’d start but maybe check the sites for Chevron, Concho and I think Exxon. It helps if you get a rec of course but it’s worth a try. Lots of chemical engineers in the oil industry. My Dad started out that way.
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The main point of the announcement now was to take it off the table as a bargaining chit in the payroll tax cut debate. If and when it comes back, hopefully it will be evaluated on its own merit rather than being part of a ransom note laundry list.
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I’m here. I can’t seem to find an introductory thread. It is great to see good poeple here.
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*waving at mcurtis*
(Yeah, I’m not a fan of the reply feature, but this is a welcome note directed at one person and doesn’t otherwise add to the general discussion)
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Hello, mcurtis!
I don’t believe we ever put up much of an introductory post, but if you check out the “Rules of Engagement” page at the top, it’ll tell you a lot about us. Welcome!
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I read those. Very simple and sweet. They are too easy to comply with. I’ll give WaPo a rest. Greg used to write for the Austin American Statesman. I was very surprised when he moved over to the Washington Post. However, he’s in a better place for the Statesman has rid itself of a lot of talent.
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very simple and sweet
lol……………not sure Kevin will like that…….better watch out. A lot of us do both the WaPo and here and elsewhere. Right now I’m happiest here though. I read Greg’s stuff everyday but mostly skip the comments.
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Why wouldn’t I like simple and sweet? I agree: very straightforward and some certain person’s who-shall-not-be-named called Shrink’s opinions aside, it’s a list of the possible rather than any individual utopian notion of a policed dialog. If everybody thinks about what they are saying, and thinks about how it sounds to the other person, with an eye towards actually communicating, all is well. The most important rule is #5:
Take it down a notch. People will slip, and say things that are rude, or absolutist, or hubristic. Your role, in that situation, should probably be to talk them down off the ledge, not get up there with them. Just sayin’.
It’s the most important, I think, because it tends to be the most useful to conversation, yet is also the least intuitive. When someone calls me a dork, my gut instinct is to call him a nerd, and so on. Tit-for-tat is hardwired into us, so I’m of the opinion it’s best to try and return to productive conversation when someone is doing stuff I disagree with, or don’t like–and, if necessary, gently refer them to the rules. 😉
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Welcome, mcurtis.
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It’s unanimous…..the girls are happy to see another guy in the mix….welcome.
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Thanks all.
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I see people were kind enough to send you a magic decoder ring. Welcome aboard.
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Yes, it was very nice. I appreciate it,
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lms:
That’s a joke right?
No, not really. It sounds to me like the perfect opportunity for people in those effected communities to exhibit that altruistic impulse that Mike (and mich? and you?) seems to think is a primary motivating characteristic of humans.
Of course, I don’t expect them to do any such thing, since it seems obvious to me that self-interest, not altruism, is the primary motivating impulse for people, and if the pipeline is not in the perceived self-interest of people in those communities, I expect them to oppose it.
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lms:
I just trust scientists a little more when we’re dealing with the oil industry.
In what way do you trust scientists more?
I trust scientists (generally speaking) more than, say, a politician to be able to determine that if X is done, Y will happen, or that in order to accomplish X, Y must be done. But I don’t trust scientists any more than I do anyone else to say that the value to be accrued by achieving X is or isn’t worth the cost of Y.
Which, BTW, is one reason I find the constant appeal to “science” and “scientists” as a trump card in political disputes to be irritating.
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Everybody can have an agenda, including scientists. Just because the motivations aren’t necessarily the caricatures portrayed by, say, climate skeptics . . . it doesn’t mean they aren’t motivated by the same desires, good and bad, as everybody else, or any less prone to corruption for various reasons than politicians or bankers. Especially bankers.
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Scott
No, not really. It sounds to me like the perfect opportunity for people in those effected communities to exhibit that altruistic impulse that Mike (and mich? and you?) seems to think is a primary motivating characteristic of humans.
I don’t think I said it was the primary motivating characteristic of humans. I was arguing that there exist altruisitic impulses without self-interest at the primary motivating factor. Even if we take dying for your country or kin out of the equation, I believe other altruistic urges are not reliant on self-interest promoting the action.
I trust scientists (generally speaking) more than, say, a politician to be able to determine that if X is done, Y will happen, or that in order to accomplish X, Y must be done.
We agree on this part. When I referenced the oil company vs. scientist vs. politician it was more on the basis of environmental impact. For instance, we’re just now finding out which dangerous chemicals are part of the make-up of frakking fluid or that at least some earthquakes are the result of frakking. It was the quest for scientific data that lead to these discoveries. Left up to politicians and or oil industry executives I’m not sure this information would be available yet. With a daughter who is both a water expert and soon to be oil expert working in the industry, maybe I’m just partial… 🙂 Entirely possible.
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yellojkt said:
If and when it comes back, hopefully it will be evaluated on its own merit rather than being part of a ransom note laundry list.
And how would that happen? Seriously, isn’t pretty much anything that crosses state lines going to be part of some DC political fight?
ScottC said:
I trust scientists (generally speaking) more than, say, a politician to be able to determine that if X is done, Y will happen, or that in order to accomplish X, Y must be done.
I’m a statistician, and therefore see things in terms of probabilities. To me it isn’t a matter of something that “must be done” or “will happen”, but its likelihood. Two people can look at the estimated likelihood that Y will occur if X is implemented and reach different conclusions about its personal and societal acceptability. One might even consider oneself acting altruistically by being anti-pipeline.
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msjs,
This is a highly politicized project of which I really don’t know much about except what I read in forums like this. I expect it to be subject to horse trading, log rolling, and arm twisting. I just thought tying it to a completely unrelated revenue bill was the most brazen way to go about trying to get it pushed through.
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lms: With a daughter who is both a water expert and soon to be oil expert
But oil and water don’t mix! ;-D
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But oil and water don’t mix! ;-D
Lol………but the science is remarkably similar in terms of fluvial systems. Just the timing is a little different. She figures she’s poised for the future either way.
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Tell her to think about how best to remove petrochemicals & other toxins from water & she can retire young. Bonus points for removing salt too.
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mcurtis said:
However, he’s [Greg’s] in a better place for the Statesman has rid itself of a lot of talent.
I can see that WaPo may be considered a step up in some ways, but he now writes on a technical platform powered by overweight, temperamental gerbils and attracts the likes of people that diminish his blog. So much for success.
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I actually made that point to him in an email. There isn’t much he can do about it. That’s sad. I’m sure people do read the comments to blogs. His retorts are sometimes good.
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Hi –
I don’t think he ever was with the AAS. I believe you are confusing him with the great cartoonist, Ben Sargent.
And…welcome!
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but he now writes on a technical platform powered by overweight, temperamental gerbils and attracts the likes of people that diminish his blog.
I’m picturing an overweight, temperamental gerbil in my head. . . got it! I’ve got a couple of cats that might be able to do the WaPo’s IT department a favor! 🙂
And, MsJS, your example above was why I like threaded comments in some cases. I don’t know if you saw my analogy that I gave Scott, but I liken them to an interesting dinner party–you can carry on a semi-private conversation with your fascinating dinner partner, while still keeping tabs on, and throwing comments into, the general conversation. 😉
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bsimon
Tell her to think about how best to remove petrochemicals & other toxins from water & she can retire young.
That was along the lines of the original plan. Got accepted to two big hydro research projects but the funding collapsed. Only thing left was oil. I don’t know how long she’ll last in the industry but she was very picky about who she went to work for. She won’t be in Texas either so that worked out. She hated Midland.
BTW, we tried the move out bonus ($300) with our tenant, unfortunately she didn’t bite. Just gave the lawyer $920 today. Hope it works on the first try and she doesn’t trash the place……we’re a little nervous.
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Michigoose:
And, MsJS, your example above was why I like threaded comments in some cases. I don’t know if you saw my analogy that I gave Scott, but I liken them to an interesting dinner party–you can carry on a semi-private conversation with your fascinating dinner partner
The last time I attended such an event was…actually, never.
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OT: This is really an Admin thing, but the About page still has the WordPress boilerplate. Anybody want to put together an actual About page for ATiM and get it up? Volunteers? Anyone? Bueller?
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Bueller here. I’ll do it Kevin, but only if you and maybe a couple of other people edit and add your ideas to it if I haven’t captured everyone’s vision. My vision for ATiM may not coincide with others but I think we all probably agree on how we got here. I may not have time until the weekend, but will email you with what I come up with.
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Midland is truly Philistia, if you have any cultural pretensions at all. The climate is almost as bad as Amarillo’s – blazing for 6 months, seldom mild, and windy cold south plains in the winter. Okie might be familiar with this – I forget where she is in OK.
UTPB is halfway between Midland and Odessa, near the airport that serves the two oil cities. Used to be the rich lived in Midland and the oil field hands lived in Odessa. Probably still is that way. I think LMS reported that Midland is either rich or poor, with no middle. I can see that. I have avoided the place for 32 years.
Used to be the toughest HS football conference anywhere, but the teams on the plains have slipped. “Friday Night Lights” was written about those teams – when Cedric Benson and Roy Williams were in Midland and Odessa.
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Kevin:
Anyone? Bueller?
I’ll do it.
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