Oil rig activity plunges on the Bakken
A top state official says North Dakota could lose as many as 4,000 oil field jobs as production plunges towards 1 million barrels per day, the lowest level since February 2009. The rig count — 193 a year ago — could drop to 100 this year.
http://www.startribune.com/business/296155211.html
Big oil’s business model is broken
Michael Klare is author and professor of Peace and World Security Studies at Hampshire College. He opines about why oil prices have plunged.
“Many reasons have been provided for the dramatic plunge in the price of oil to about $60 per barrel (nearly half of what it was a year ago): slowing demand due to global economic stagnation; overproduction at shale fields in the United States; the decision of the Saudis and other Middle Eastern OPEC producers to maintain output at current levels (presumably to punish higher-cost producers in the U.S. and elsewhere); and the increased value of the dollar relative to other currencies. There is, however, one reason that’s not being discussed, and yet it could be the most important of all: the complete collapse of Big Oil’s production-maximizing business model.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-t-klare/big-oils-broken-business-model_b_6855342.html
LA vs. the mountains:
Why the city will be buried in time
The San Gabriel Mountains have vomited rivers of mud toward what is now Los Angeles for eons. The debris floes won’t stop any time soon. Meanwhile, developers erect million-dollar homes and build neighborhoods that could are at risk. It’s just a matter of time when fire, rain or an earthquake will trigger destruction down streams and gully channels.
http://nautil.us/issue/22/slow/los-angeles-should-be-buried
VW issues $6,250 profit sharing checks to union workers
Volkswagon in Germany is sharing profits with its workers in the form of $6,250 checks. The company’s boss says the payouts reflect a strong team performance despite difficult conditions in 2014.
http://www.startribune.com/business/296063201.html
Wisconsin construction business will expand in Minnesota
The president of a Wisconsin-based construction company will expand in Minnesota. That’s because the state’s recent passage of a right-to-work law will cost Hoffman Construction money, he says. In addition, he sited Minnesota’s appetite to target tax revenue toward improving transportation projects creates opportunity for both business and labor.
Jay Leno hates ethanol
Jay Leno collects lots of cars and the ethanol in gas ruins his car engines, he says. That’s not all. Leno says ethanol diverts the public’s money as tax subsidies to giant agribusiness companies and the diverting production from corn production from food to fuel only drives up prices at the grocery store.
“It’s enough to make you want to Jaywalk,” Leno says.
http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2015/03/jay-leno-hates-ethanol.php
