History is about people, and personal connections always add interest. On hearing we’d be visiting Charleston, SC a good friend, Austin Sayre, suggested we stop by his family’s ancestral home. The Colonel John Stuart House is in Charleston’s historic district, where many of the homes have a plaque describing their former owner’s significance. Colonel Stuart […]
Markets finished the strongest quarter sine 1987 yesterday, led by the energy sector. The American Energy Independence Index, which comprises North America’s biggest pipeline stocks, is still down 29% for the year. Some investors are weary of years of underperformance against the broader market, combined with high volatility. The volatility is largely a function of […]
Covid-19 is probably the biggest political issue in America today. Liberals see a worsening situation in need of a slower return to normalcy requiring additional fiscal stimulus. Rising infections in Arizona, Texas and Florida provide plenty of quantitative support for this view. Conservatives reject this argument, presenting their own set of data. The restrictions on […]
Covid-19 cases are rising, especially in the south. Three weeks ago, my wife and I headed to South Carolina and beyond, where restrictions were limited and nobody we met knew anyone who had gotten sick (see Having a Better Pandemic in Charleston, SC). Masks were scarce, inside dining was permitted and it seemed like the […]
Coronavirus approached us like a distant wave earlier this year. Initially it was remote and unthreatening, as we viewed developments far away in Asia. But it soon engulfed us, making our lives unrecognizable and crushing economic activity everywhere. As the first wave recedes, individuals and businesses are adapting to the new normal, while contemplating a […]
Last week Oneok (OKE) did a secondary offering of 26 million shares. It was priced at $32, and diluted existing shareholders by around 7%. Although a healthy discount from two years ago when they raised $1BN at $54.50, it was nonetheless encouraging that a pipeline company could raise equity. On March 18, when the sector […]
On Sunday we reviewed Vaclav Smil’s Natural Gas: Fuel for the 21st Century. Smil writes about how the world uses energy, well supported by useful facts and figures. Our original review was a brief summary of the book. Below, we highlight some of the fascinating proof statements Smil includes in his book. For example – […]
Vaclav Smil is a prolific writer of books that explain how the world uses energy. Past titles include Making the Modern World – Materials and Dematerialization, Energy Transitions, Energy Myths and Realities, Energy: A Beginner’s Guide and Energy and Civilization: A History. If you want to understand the physics, chemistry and economics of energy, you […]
Most energy investors wish the Shale Revolution had never happened. Energy independence was realized through sharply higher oil and gas output. But the promise of similarly bountiful investment returns was not. U.S. E&P executives have overspent and overproduced. Unfortunately, the midstream infrastructure sector too often followed along. Drilling and building infrastructure is in the DNA […]
On Thursday my wife and I boarded a plane from Newark, NJ to Charlotte, NC. Although Governor Murphy is slowly relaxing the lockdown restrictions that have been imposed on New Jerseyans, it is an incremental process. Each minor restoration of a freedom lost is quietly celebrated. Restaurants will soon be allowed to open for outdoor […]
