Just wanted to let any of my followers know, that I have returned to blogging. The name of my new blog is “TRUTH“, as in “In all satire, there is an element of truth”. The purpose of TRUTH is to be a lighthearted look at current events. I hope you enjoy it, and feel free to leave me a comment there.

Yahoo Finance: Rig company Seadrill hit by profit miss and cautious outlook

Seadrill, the world’s biggest offshore driller by market capitalisation, reported second-quarter earnings below forecasts on Wednesday and offered a cautious outlook for the rig market, sending its shares lower.

Seadrill, the crown jewel in shipping tycoon John Fredriksen’s business empire, has been hit like other rig firms by oil companies reining in spending to counter rising costs.

Seadrill’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) for the quarter came in at $641 million, below forecasts of $663 million in a Reuters poll of analysts and down from the $665 million it posted a year ago.

“The near-term market for ultra-deepwater drilling units continues to be challenging, partly driven by a reduction in exploration drilling that has led to a slower growth rate in overall upstream spending,” the company said in a statement.

…The company intends to prioritise returning cash to shareholders, it said, adding that it can maintain a quarterly dividend of 1 dollar per share well into 2016, even if the rig market fails to make a significant recovery.

While I have not had time to look over their latest financials, the last point is key, since the dividend is one of the top reasons I own SeaDrill shares. The other reason? They were dirt cheap when I bought them. If they drop back down to where I bought them, I might have to add some more. I will take a “wait and see” approach to it.

Again, no changes to report today since I didn’t do any trading. It has been a busy week for me. As for you, have an open thread!

Another month comes to a close. As usual, my portfolio results include Friday, except for SYMC, which I just bought today:

GNW: -0.19 to $12.80 ( -1.46% , 36.61% overall)– bought at $9.37
IAU: 0.05 to $12.89 ( 0.39% , -1.53% overall)– bought at $13.09
NDZ: -0.03 to $8.63 ( -0.35% , -0.23% overall)– bought at $8.65
NNVC: -0.51 to $5.19 ( -8.95% , 104.33% overall)– bought at $2.54
PVCT: -0.07 to $0.77 ( -8.33% , -25.96% overall)– bought at $1.04
SYMC: 0.03 to $24.75 ( 0.12% , 0.12% overall)– bought at $24.72 today
YHOO: 0.42 to $33.17 ( 1.28% , 23.40% overall)– bought at $26.88

OVERALL: -0.43%

CNBC: A ‘dove-nado’ of Fed speak could be more powerful than QE

An interesting view on the upcoming Federal Reserve’s QE tapering:

Two Federal Reserve economists are telling the Street what it already suspected: Dovish talk may be even more powerful than quantitative easing.

In a research note, the economists wrote that the Federal Reserve’s asset purchases, or quantitative easing, probably provided a “modest boost to economic growth and inflation.” However, the effects of QE would depend in large part on the Fed’s interest-rate guidance, the note said.

“[E]stimates from a macroeconomic model suggest that such interest- rate forward guidance probably has greater effects than signals about the amount of assets purchased,” the economists wrote in the paper, released by the San Francisco Federal Reserve.

…The Fed economists pointed to QE2, a $600 billion large scale asset-purchase program, noting it added about 0.13 percentage points to real growth in late 2010 and 0.03 percentage points to inflation.

“Our analysis suggests that forward guidance is essential for quantitative easing to be effective. Without forward guidance, QE2 would have added only 0.04 percentage point to GDP growth and 0.02 to inflation,” the economists wrote in the paper.

Considering the bond market’s reaction to the Fed’s tapering announcement, I would say there are other side effects to be considered. If treasuries start rising, that will increase the cost of the U.S. debt, which will in turn create a drag on the economy. An argument can be made that QE didn’t pump the economy, but it might have prevented other economic problems.

Don’t get me wrong: I am no fan of QE. I think it masks our economic problems. But I am in the minority with the view that sometimes we need to let the economy heal itself.

CNBC (via Yahoo Finance): High-speed tube travel not as crazy as it sounds

There has been a lot of chatter about Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s idea for a “hyperloop”. While I like the idea, I think we are at least a decade or longer from seeing any progress made on it. As the article above points out, there is still a ton of government bureaucracy to go through. I wouldn’t look for investments in it yet, because I doubt the private sector could accomplish this without strong government backing.

Wall Street Cheat Sheet: Silver Wheaton Earnings Preview

Something for me to look forward to, as I have Silver Wheaton in my 401k:

Silver Wheaton (NYSE:SLW) will report earnings after markets close on Wednesday, August 14th.

…Analysts expect earnings of $0.26 per share on revenues of $194.17 million.

For all the movement in the markets today, not much really happened in the end, similar to my portfolio:

BAC: 0.15 to $7.63 (2.01%, -4.03% overall)–bought at $7.95
EUO: 0.04 to $22.31 (0.18%, 5.43% overall)–bought at $21.16
NNVC: -0.01 to $0.55 (-1.79%, -12.70% overall)–bought at $0.63
SPXU: 0.04 to $49.29 (0.08%, -4.88% overall)–bought at $51.82

OVERALL: +0.05%

I added to my NanoViricides (NNVC) position today at 56 cents, lowering my dollar cost average to 63 cents. I will sell 2/3 of it at 70 cents.

On the other hand, if it keeps dropping for a few months, I can add more later. I still consider it a long-term hold.

“Spanish bank IPO“.

Here are the photos from India which Seaturtlelady was talking about in the comments:



And now we know who is stealing India’s electricity…

CNBC’s Mark Haines, co-anchor of Squawk on the Street, died last night. He was 65. He will be missed.