Insomniac Hedge Fund Guy

The first foreign oil tanker filled with American crude pulled out of port on New Year’s Eve. Here’s what you need to know about its journey. Source: 5 Things to Know About the First Freely Traded U.S. Oil Cargo in 40 Years                                                – WSJ

Obviously very bad for investor confidence.  They might do better letting Macau casino operator, Steve Wynn run the exchanges as well as the casinos. China’s stock market held its shortest trading session in history as tumbling stocks triggered the circuit-breaker system twice. Source: Investors Scramble for Answers After China’s Stock Halt

Apple has become the Rodney Dangerfield of the stock market. It can get no respect even boasting profits  and revenue growth any company including the FANGS would love to have. Attempting to steal a bit of thunder away from this week’s Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas, Apple announced this morning a record-breaking holiday season for its App Store, with over $1.1… Source: Apple’s Record-Breaking Holiday Season Saw Over $1.1 Billion In App Store Sales | TechCrunch

Because the sectarian divide is set to become the key geopolitical issue in the weeks and months ahead, we thought it an opportune time to present the following map from Goldman which does a nice job of delineating the Sunni-Shiite split in the Mid-East. Source: This Just Became The Most Important Map In Geopolitics | Zero Hedge

In any assessment of the oil price crash, it is worth remembering Shakespeare’s aphorism: “What’s past is prologue”. In 2015, it appeared that the salient features of the US oil industry were: falling costs and rising productivity, which meant total Source: Oil’s prologue likely to be a harbinger of worse things to come – FT.com

Earlier today, as Iranian police struggled to disperse protesters gathered outside the Saudi consulate in Mashhad, we said that Saudi Arabia and Iran may be on the verge of a historic diplomatic crisis after protesters burned the Saudi embassy in Tehran on Saturday evening. sure enough, just hours later, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al-Ahmad Al-Jubeir announced that Riyadh has cut diplomatic ties with Tehran Source: It’s On: Saudis Sever Diplomatic Ties With Iran, Wil Confront “Hostile” Iranian Actions In Region

Websites such as Insider Monkey, SEC Form 4 (secform4.com) and J3SG monitor inside activity and how significant it is to a stock’s price. Source: Where to Keep Tabs on Insider Buying and Selling of Stock – Barron’s

The first oil tanker of freely traded U.S. crude launched Thursday afternoon from the Port of Corpus Christi, about 160 miles north of the Texas border with Mexico. Source: First Tanker of U.S. Crude Oil for Export Launches From Texas – WSJ

U.S. stocks had their worst annual performance since 2008, closing out a rocky year that tempered investors’ expectations for gains in 2016. Source: U.S. Stocks Post Worst Annual Losses Since 2008

The investors that did the best in 2015 are those that defied conventional wisdom. Source: A Bold Few Traders Earn Billions Flouting Rivals – WSJ

Hedge fund managers have stunned investors with the depth of their losses this year, and pressure to perform better will be intense heading into 2016. Source: Hedge Funds Struggle With Steep Losses and High Expectations

One of the most striking narratives to date has been the lack of any positive upside optionality in the markets for the price of crude going up.   Tumult in the MidEast will grow more likely in my opinion, as the largess of the oil states declines, the social fabric may be strained. Gloom descends on Gulf as oil price slump hits economy by Simeon Kerr Share Author A caustic slogan is doing the rounds on social networks in the Gulf states this festive season: “All I want for Christmas is for oil prices to go up.”Gloom has descended on the … Read more

Oil Is Now Cheaper Than Coffee, Milk, & WaterSubmitted by Tyler Durden on 12/23/2015 15:55 -0500 inShare  While oil may be cheaper… But the rest of these ‘staples’ still taste a lot better. Source: Oil Is Now Cheaper Than Coffee, Milk, & Water | Zero Hedge

The finances of nonprofit Burning Man come to lightJosh Weiss2 Hours AgoCNBC.com17SHARESCOMMENTSStart the DiscussionJim Urquhart | ReutersThe Man burns during the Burning Man 2013 arts and music festival in Black Rock Desert, Nevada.Burning Man is just a gathering of hippies when a giant wooden effigy is set ablaze, right? According to a recent report on the annual event in the Nevada Desert, that definition would be oversimplifying matters. Source: The finances of nonprofit Burning Man come to light

We’ve hit peak pessimism.“There is no bid for oil.” Those were the first words I heard recently from Bloomberg’s Tom Keene when I turned on the television a little before five.The media follows mood, and Mr. Keene was expressing the sentiment of crude oil traders around the globe—saturating hopelessness. No one buying. Only selling.Finally! Source: Here’s Why There’s a Huge Opportunity in Oil Prices – Fortune

When Apple co-founder Steve Jobs died in 2011, many wondered if the company would stumble without its visionary CEO. This week on 60 Minutes, Charlie Rose goes “Inside Apple” to see how the company is faring four years later, and whether it is still capable of the kind of bold innovation that made it the richest corporation in the world. Source: Can Apple still change the world? – CBS News

The technology giant’s CEO, Tim Cook, addresses issues concerning his company — including encryption technology, corporate taxes, and manufacturing products in China Source: What’s next for Apple? – CBS News

The knock on America’s most valuable company is that it has been so successful that it will now struggle to grow. Wall Street sees earnings per share increasing just 6% to $9.75 during the current fiscal year through September 2016, following a 43% surge last year. Source: Apple Flat on the Year But Set for a Gangbusters 2016 – Barron’s

WETHERBY ALSO SEES MAJOR upside in midstream MLPs. The oil crash has demolished MLPs, with the Alerian MLP Index down about 50% from its August 2014 peak. Midstream MLPs, which focus on the processing, storing, and transmission of oil and gas, have been walloped along with the rest.That’s undeserved, says Wetherby, since low oil prices haven’t hurt overall demand for energy. For investors with a time horizon of 3 to 5 years, midstream MLPs should pay off nicely—and in the meantime, they deliver yields of about 13%, she notes.“At some point, people are going to realize [that midstream companies’] revenues … Read more

When Apple’s designers wanted to improve the iPhone’s ability to take selfies, they did not just look at the camera or a conventional LED-based flash. An in-house team came up with a custom display chip to briefly light up the devices’s screen three Source: Apple’s in-house chip design unit gives it smartphone edge – FT.com

On the day the Federal Reserve implemented its plan to raise interest rates, driving up overnight borrowing costs, broader market forces conspired instead to drive other U.S. interest rates down. Source: Fed Hikes, but Some Rates Veer Lower – WSJ

When I look at a beaten-up sector, one of the key tells that things may be near a turnaround is insider buying. I may not be an expert on a given industry, but the people running the companies in the space should have some deeper level of knowledge than I possess. We are finally starting to see some insider buying in the energy sector after something of a lull in 2015. I have proven pretty definitively that I have no sense of timing when it comes to the oil market, as I have been long and wrong for a little … Read more

The market is fixated on the price of oil and its deflationary impact on numerous industries.  As the overwhelmingly most important commodity in the world, it has enormous multiplier effects. In The Wall Street Journal, Daniel Yergin writes about the global battle for oil market share. Iran and its rivals vie for advantage amid low prices, oversupply and the likely end of the U.S. export ban. Source: The Global Battle for Oil Market Share – WSJ

In a move considered unthinkable even a few months ago, congressional leaders have agreed to lift the nation’s 40-year-old ban on oil exports, a historic action that reflects political and economic shifts driven by a boom in U.S. oil drilling. Source: Congressional Leaders Agree to Lift 40-Year Ban on Oil Exports – WSJ

Raymond James Chief Investment Strategist Jeffrey Saut said Tuesday that stock investors should get read for a “rip your face off-type rally.” Source: Stocks ready for ‘rip your face off’ rally: Saut – Yahoo Finance

If the President won’t block it, this is huge news for the beleaguered oil and gas infrastructure MLP industry.  I think it will put a floor on the stock declines at least. Congressional leaders agreed on a U.S. fiscal plan that would avert a government shutdown and lift the 40-year-old ban on crude oil exports, House Republicans said. Source: Congress Reaches Fiscal Deal That Ends U.S. Crude Oil Export Ban – Bloomberg Politics