Professor Elam

Natural Gas

Wed Dec 28, 2011

Natural Gas is at a decade low discount to crude oil. Coal is being regulated out of use by the Obama Administration. But the low prices of natural gas are making it a favored substitute over coal. And nat gas burns a lot cleaner than coal. 

Historic Comparison Nat Gas to Crude Oil

It is hard for most of us to think in fractions but here nat gas is about 3% of the value of crude oil, think $100 /3.15. I put the 50 month MA i to show that .1-.15 is a much more frequent valuation. So the two markets are lopsided, would the arbitragers please step forward.  Chesapeake CHK is at top a major player in the nat gas industry. 

Crude Oil versus Nat Gas

It is probably easier to relate a ratio of 32 to 1 than one of 3%. Here the ratio is crude oil to nat gas. 

With nat gas everywhere but under the White House it is only logical that we would use it, well logical too all except those in the White House. I still have 250 share of UNG and may average down here but I do not recommend such ETFs, They are subject to serious difficulties as the fund has to re invest every month as the current futures go off the board. 

 

Doug Kass - 15 Surprises

Wed Dec 28, 2011

Doug Kass has his 15 Srurprises for 2012. Notably he sees the Market at the same level at year end 2012 aas now. His similar prediction for 2011, same same also was correct. 

 

I will have my prediction list later but I see he is recommending GM as I did as well as Energy and Energy Service shares as well as gold mining shares. 

Tax the Rich

Wed Dec 28, 2011

Here is a great example that puts the mammoth numbers congress is tossing around in 

perspective.

Taking the wealth is not the road to wealth. 

Lonely Hunter Better Hunt

Wed Dec 28, 2011

I have referred to Photographer Kirk Tuck's blog several times Please take time to read

Lonely Hunter, Better Hunt  He is describing what it takes to become a better photographer. But  realizing most of you will not do this, here are the summary paragraphs. In the second paragraph, substitute the words accomplishment or achievement for photography, and you  have what it takes to succeed as a student- of anything. And yes I left his final comment as is. Group work is popular in academic circles these days. I recently posted a story on the MBA at Yale and that is about all it was. I agree with Kirk, you want to mast the topic, you have to do the work. 

But in 1992 it was up to me, continuously.  These were the days before the internet so there was no need to "check in."  No compulsive e-mail checking.  No silly/obnoxious tweets.  And no cellphone either.  I could go days without speaking to anyone I knew and that was cool because it concentrated my attention onto taking photographs or getting myself into position to take photographs.  I came to know the feel of the EOS-1 in a way that I can barely fathom now.  It was an amazing camera. (But this is certainly not a camera review!!!)

Here's what I learned:  If you want to do photography at a level that really satisfies your soul and your ego you'll need to do it alone.  Forget having the spouse or girlfriend or best friend or camera buddy tagging along.  Forget the whole sorry concept of the "photo walk" which does nothing but engender homogenization and "group think."  Leave all electronics in your hotel room.  Cut off all communications, during the day, from or to the "real world" and immerse yourself in the hunt for images.  Learn what makes your brain salivate and why.  Learn to operate that camera by braille. And make your decisions based on what your inner curator wants you to say.

Everything else is just play time bullshit. 

Accounting Tutor

Ms. Kingsley can be reached directly at (210) 884-8701  or at [email protected]

Laur is avaiable by appointment at the Brooks Campus.

Who's the Worst?

Dec 9, 2011 Friday

Yep time for ethics class. Funny we never run out of candidates and never need to go back to older material,There is never a lack of candidates for Who's the Worst in the latest time frame. While far from the worst, there should be a category for the most entertaining, and that is clearly

Rob Blagoevich, former Governor of IL. The Governor before him is in jail and Rob now faces 

14 years to do himself. This is hardly fair, he talked about selling Barack's Senate Seat, and he threatened to withold money from a Children's hospital until receiving a campaign donation (that's illegal he  wondered) but after all, he did not cost anyone any lost money, more than we can say for Richard Fuld of Lehman or our next truly worth contestant

 

 

Treemonisha

Tuesday Dec 6, 2011

We recently featured a story on the San Antonio Ragtime Society hosting Bryan Wright. 

I don't know if this link will work b but the WSJ featured a story on the first and only opera that 

Scott Joplin wrote. Joplin was black, a native of Texarkana, TX. He wrote the music specifically for the sort of orchestra that one would find in vaudeville theaters, not opera theaters, ie, for the average attendee not the up market type at operas at the time. 

This is an interesting historic piece on the development of American Music. 

Bond, James Bond

Sunday Dec 4, 2011

I, and several million others, thoroughly enjoyed roaming the world in Ian Fleming's tales of the great British agent James Bond. Fleming wrote for the London Sunday Times. He took a month off each year, vacationing in what must have been the then laid back island of Jamaica in the 1950s. He also wrote a couple of children's books, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and a non fiction Thrilling Cities. 

But it was the tales of Bond after a super villain the enthralled us all. The precise description of the Rolex Oyster Perpetual, now wrapped round his knuckles, Bond  rising to the balls of his feet, and then spinning, dropping low, using the circular momentum of his turn to accelerate the metal bracelet into the solar plexus of the man behind him, 

well or something like that. Fleming lived to see the first two films, Dr. No and From Russia with Love turned into movies. Those two were the most accurate of the entire series as being faithful to the original novels. by the third, Goldfinger the race to gadgets and a bevy of women was on and frankly the series went a bit flat. 

There have been other attempts to replicate the Bond saga with various writers since Fleming's death. Bur in my opinion, none have captured the essence of the detail, page turning plots, and exotic locales and bad guys envisioned by Fleming.

Jeffery Deaver changes all that with Carte Blanche. 

Highly recommended, I checked it out of the library Friday and should finish today. It's all here, the weird international villain, Felix Leiter, the Bentley, the Walther, and the precise descriptions of every details form the food to the drinks.  The role of women has been appropriately updated for a new more significant role in society. And Deaver has done his research, Jack Bauer and Bond both need their PDAs....

Bond is back, make ours shaken not stirred. 

 

Jon Corzine Gets Creative

Thursday Dec 1, 2011

MF Global proved it ain't over till its over, at least in terms of beating the FASB at its own game. 

Frankly I had a hard time following this one. 

And, if SARBOX required CEOs and CFOs to sign off on the statements, why isn't Corzine being prosecuted over this?

As you will read, MF Global moved lots of money off its balance sheet on some harum scarum idea that the maturity of the loan matched the maturity of the leveraged securities, bingo we don't own them. 

Any body seen Corzine lately?