MLP IN THE MEDIA
*“Whiting’s Wildcatters” Documentary Debuts Tomorrow – Oil & Gas 360®
Whiting Petroleum (ticker: WLL), the largest Bakken/Three Forks producer, will be featured in a mini-documentary that will be released on Oil & Gas 360® at 9:00 a.m. Eastern time on Tuesday, January 12, 2016. “Whiting’s Wildcatters: Micro Scale, Macro Vision” – an Oil & Gas 360® special report, sponsored by FEI Company – is a 10-minute documentary that goes behind the scenes at Whiting’s Denver headquarters. – Read More
*Oil Seen Heading to $20 by Morgan Stanley on Dollar Strength – Bloomberg
A rapid appreciation of the U.S. dollar may send Brent oil to as low as $20 a barrel, according to Morgan Stanley. Oil is particularly leveraged to the dollar and may fall between 10 to 25 percent if the currency gains 5 percent, Morgan Stanley analysts including Adam Longson said in a research note dated Jan. 11. A global glut may have pushed oil prices under $60 a barrel, but the difference between $35 and $55 is primarily the U.S. dollar, according to the report. – Read More
*Oil Claims Another Victim: Dividends – The Wall Street Journal
You can count shareholder payouts among the victims of oil’s downward spiral. U.S.-listed stocks increased their dividends by a net $38.7 billion in 2015, a 29% decrease from a year earlier, according to data released Tuesday by S&P Dow Jones Indices. That comes amid a steep drop off in the fourth quarter, when the value of dividend increases plunged 70% from the prior-year period The culprit: oil, mostly. Energy-linked companies have slashed dividends this year as the rout in commodity prices forces them to move to preserve cash. – Read More
*An Energy IPO to Top All Energy IPOs – Oil & Gas 360®
ExxonMobil’s perch atop the oil and gas industry’s food chain may be on notice. Stricken by the effects of the commodity downturn which it caused, oil-dependent Saudi Arabia appears to be open to almost any source of income to soften the sting of the kingdom’s 2015 record deficit of nearly $100 billion. That apparently includes a potential Initial Public Offering (IPO) of Saudi Aramco, its crown jewel oil company. In an interview with The Economist, Mohammad bin Salman, the deputy crown prince of Saudi Arabia, said the situation is currently being reviewed. – Read More
*Norway’s massive oil fund reviews equity weighting – Reuters
Norway’s Finance Ministry has appointed a group of experts to evaluate how much of the country’s $818 billion oil fund should be invested in equities, the ministry said on Friday. The Norwegian sovereign wealth fund, the world’s largest, invests about 60 percent of its assets in stocks, about 35 percent in fixed income and up to five percent in real estate. The review follows a recent debate over how to best invest the fund, worth more than twice the country’s annual economic output, which now holds $157,000 for every man, woman and child living in Norway. – Read More
*Alaska Looks to Plug the Fiscal Dam as Oil Prices Remain Low – Oil & Gas 360®
Lower commodity prices have taken a major toll on states like Alaska that depend in large part on the revenue from selling oil and gas to fund the state budget. Because of the drop in oil prices since 2014, Alaska Governor Bill Walker has proposed a budget plan for fiscal 2017 to address the state’s $3.5 billion budget deficit through spending cuts, new revenue, wealth management and investment, according to a release from The State of Alaska. “This is a major paradigm shift in how the State of Alaska conducts business,” said Governor Bill Walker. – Read More
*Federal Reserve sends record $97.7-billion profit to Treasury – Los Angeles Times
The Federal Reserve said Monday it sent a record $97.7 billion in profits to the U.S. Treasury as the central bank’s vast holdings of mortgage-backed securities and other investments continued to produce a bumper crop of interest income. On top of that, the Fed said it sent an additional $19.3 billion from a capital surplus account to help fund federal infrastructure projects under a controversial provision Congress included in a five-year highway bill in December. – Read More
*Something Is Seriously Wrong With Our Federal Reserve – Forbes
Swedish yields are dropping as investors are expecting the Swedish central bank to cut rates yet again. The dollar is soaring versus the Yuan, which is going to lead to a major problem as far earnings in China for U.S. companies that do business in that country. The Chinese authorities are scrambling for cover as their stock market collapses which could result in their economy seriously lagging at least in the first half of this year. – Read More
*$17.85 Billion in Oil and Gas Bankruptcies in 2015 – Oil & Gas 360®
Swift Energy (ticker: SFYWQ) joined the 2015 group of oil and gas producers to file for bankruptcy on Dec. 31, making it the final oil and gas company to do so last year. Swift’s total debt amounted to $1.18 billion, comprised of $302 million in secured debt, and $875 million in unsecured debt. Swift received U.S. bankruptcy court approval this week to borrow up to $15 million, giving the company time to negotiate a refinancing deal. – Read More
*Bowie: The Man Who Sold Royalties and Brought Music to Bonds – Bloomberg
The man behind “The Man Who Sold the World” was the first recording artist to go to Wall Street to tap the future earnings of his music, paving the way for a thriving market for esoteric securities backed by everything from racehorse stud rights to commercial washing machines. David Bowie, who died from cancer at age 69 on Sunday, sold $55 million of bonds in 1997 that were tied to future royalties from hits including “Ziggy Stardust,” “Space Oddity” and “Changes.” – Read More
*Record Multiples Stoke Debate Over Whether Buyout Prices Have Peaked – The Wall Street Journal
Soaring U.S. buyout valuations may have hit their peak, as a key metric surpasses the prior record seen before the financial crisis. U.S. buyout firms paid an average of 10.3-times earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization for their deals in 2015, according to S&P Capital IQ’s LCD. “I don’t see how [multiples] can get higher from where they were in 2015, so in that sense, we are likely at a peak,” Steven Miller, a managing director of LCD wrote in an email. – Read More
*U.S. Sees Second Best Year of Jobs Growth Since 1999 – Oil & Gas 360®
292,000 new jobs were added to the U.S. economy in December, according to information from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Most of the added jobs came from construction, health care and business services, with the three accounting for half of the new jobs added last month. The stronger than expected job growth seen last month brought total growth to 2.65 million jobs for 2015, making it the second best year for jobs growth since 1999. Unemployment remained relatively unchanged at 5.0%, or roughly 7.9 million. – Read More
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