MTS Insights

The cause for climate change can be said to be vainglorious for some, but others lead its valiant charge in the name humanity. President Obama has made it a noble cause, one that he has promised will mark his legacy. As a result, his administration has finally realized its efforts to assist in the conquest of evil carbon emissions. In order to do that, Obama will push new regulations in the energy sector, looking for a major reduction in carbon-dioxide based pollution, a push to invest in new markets for renewable resources, and a place in climate control history. Although introducing significant regulations on the energy industry may not be historic, it will surely change how and what will power American homes. Currently, the United States uses coal to support 18% of its energy consumption, and in electricity generation, coal is the source of 368.5 million megawatt hours. This high carbon fuel source supported as much as 50% of electricity generation in 2000 but has been on the declin...

Today is the start of a new month, a new month that will need to extricate the oil industry from the problems that July brought. To top it all off, Exxon-Mobil and Chevron introduced their earnings reports to a table already tilted against them. Sub-50 price levels overshadowed the prospect of a gain in income and as most experts predicted, disappointed numbers were in store. If investors looked back a year ago, they would find a prosperous company in XOM with earnings topping $8.7 billion. But a lot has changed, a July 31 conference call introduced a number that is below half of that, $4.19 billion. The drop can be attributed to low oil prices, a common poison administrated to the finances of national oil companies. A further look into the data behind XOM's earnings is provided with details about upstream and downstream earnings. XOM reported a $842 million dollars decrease in exploration and production earnings showing how the recent bottom has affected them. At the same time las...

As investors await supply news from the Energy Information Administration, crude prices oscillated between gains and losses. After opening at $48.83, prices peaked at $49.33 on a decline in crude production was revealed yesterday, but as the market closes, the WTI spot seems to be settling at a loss around the $48.50 price level. Although the benchmark will most likely fail to move more than 1% in either direction, analysts will wonder why supply data had little effect on the movement. As reported by the EIA, crude production was reduced by 145,000 barrels over the past week, and this was accompanied by an announcement that the Saudi's would cut back production at the end of the summer. Nevertheless, the domestic report also noted that rig utilization decreased, but only by 0.4% still maintaining capacity as high as August of 2014. Likewise, 2015 third quarter capacity utilization remains above 95% in attempt to surpass third quarter levels in 2014 which averaged out to be 93.2%. ...

In an oil slump, I have constantly stated and restated the importance of finding winners in the muck of low revenue and dipping profits. Especially in the exploration and operation sector, the key to solid financials is established infrastructure and a diversified base. One company that has stuck out in the year of 2015 is Schlumberger Limited based in Paris, France and traded on the New York Stock Exchange. Stretching across 85 countries, SLB's almost imperialistic hold on their operations is impressive. With their specialization in technological breakthroughs, project management, and tireless exploration, no company has success entrained in their methods more than the French corporation. As of today, its stock jumped $1.39 to $83.89 for a 1.68% gain on the day, a likely reaction to a positive movement in crude oil prices. This jump came during a turbulent time for the oil industry as drops in revenue threaten profitability with low prices, but SLB's earnings revealed what a s...

Halfway through the year of 2015, the United States stock market faces weak price trends that fail to reveal any information about the tottering state of the economy. Janet Yellen sits at the helm of the Federal Reserve eyeing the lever that will hike interest rates, but many have reservations. A stuttering Chinese stock market threatens a slip in world growth. Consequently, global oil demand dampens despite incredibly low oil prices. Oil companies, energy investors. and commodity traders look at sub-$50 prices and scratch their heads when reminiscing a year earlier. On July 28, 2014, WTI crude climbed to a weekly high of $105.68. With revenues strong and consumers wincing at the pump, the market followed with a 50% decrease due to a supply glut. Today, a small climb relieves some pressure from ravaged revenue and pumping that refuses to stop. The New York Mercantile Exchange closes at $47.77 posting a price drop of -54.8% in the matter of a year. The chart below describes it all from ...

Decades are a peculiar thing. Every ten years, historians bolstered by media package the time that has passed and choose a unique name for the so-called era. The years of 1920-1929 were deemed the "Twenties," as a way to segregate those years of prosperity with the horrible "Thirties" of the Great Depression. Consequently, the "Fifties," the "Sixties," and the "Seventies are all characterized by their postwar days of the Cold War and technological change. The numbers we assign years continue to define history, and nobody decides to ask the question why or assert the point that the onset of a new year, a new ten years, or even a new century is nothing but a continuance of time. Decades and centuries don't exist as much as our fabrications of eras divvy up time like a master sous chef parsing a long carrot into equal sections. Anyway it's sliced, it's still carrot and it's still time. But why all the boredom with time and carro...

For stock investors looking at oil companies to invest in, strong financials can be hard to find amidst a crisis of low oil prices. Often times, it's tempting to take a short position and make profits on small drops in prices. Volatility and bad sentiment threaten any hopes of finding a long position, but that doesn't have to be the case. Value can be found in some securities who show strong financials, especially after quarterly reports are released.The companies that have strategic executives and established infrastructure can beat their peers in a slump, then explode with growth as prices rise again. Any investor that can find a blue chip covered in the dust of job cuts, low revenue, and high debt has the potential to make a lot of money on a long position during troubled times. In my analysis, I will differentiate potential value stocks by their respective market capitalization. Stocks with different market cap, or market share, tend to act differently. For example, Googl...