MASTER LIMITED PARTNERSHIPS

2012-03-02T08:49:00.002-05:00

IS NAT GAS PUTTING IN A FINAL BOTTOM?

Truly a dangerous question is being posed here as nothing is more dangerous then trying to pick tops or bottoms. However yeserday's drop in nat gas seems to be setting up for a bottom retest of the lows of 2.30 set back on January 23. And you can already see via the chart that if that happens its going to happen on lower volume and with all sorts of momentum divergences. Nat gas has been in a bear market for years given the fact that nat gas has seemingly endless supply coming to market long term and an unfavorable demand outlook over the short term. Still it is worth noting that nothing goes down forever.

MLPS meanwhile continue in their uptrend with no signs of a top. With volatility being squeezed out of markets, its been a continuation of a grinding higher rally. There is nothing out there that seems to want to stop this train for now. So other than stock offerings which bring in temporary selloffs in price, the path of least resistance remains higher.

This morning markets are quietly lower here. No news of consequence and no upgrades or downgrades. Stock futures a few ticks down. Nat gas a few ticks up. Oil a few ticks down and the dollar is higher against the Euro on whatever they are worried about over there today.

2012-02-29T08:09:00.003-05:00

CONSTELLATION DISTRIBUTION
OUTLOOK LIGHTS UP!

It is the last remaining dead man walking mlp out there as Constellation Energy Partners (CEP) never got back off the floor after the 2008 debacle where the stock went from 40 to 1. Since then it has been in penny stock land thanks to no distribution and no chance of one coming back anytime soon. However that should change this morning with earnings where the company seems to have righted itself by reducing debt and posting earnings. Most importantly is that the company indicates that it plans to consider resuming the distribution which in the end is the bottom line for the markets. We have only one trade in the pre market with the stock up 94 cents on 200 shares.

Meanwhile still no signs of a top in mlp land however i want to look at a few movers from yesterday. Oneok LP (OKS) did a public offering and a private placement of shares yesterday which took the stock down a couple of points and its down again this morning in the pre market. Also Kinder Morgan (KMP) seems to be having a little trouble getting above the 90 level lately. The index itself was down nearly 3 points yesterday. Nothing troublesome here yet but a focused eye here might not be a bad idea as this market rally overall seems to be getting a little long in the tooth and some day (gasp) we might actually have a couple of down days in a row. Since it is mlps that have been pretty much among the leadership in the last 3 plus years, it might be logical to assume that this group may be among the first to start any type of serious selloff.

2012-02-27T08:10:00.004-05:00

ALL TIME HIGHS CONTINUE!

The unrelenting march to new all time highs continues for mlps and we are but another 10% away from seeing a triple of unit prices since the October 2008 low at 145. The movement of cash into anything paying yield continues and it has been totally justified if your mlp has been growing distributions at 2 to 3% quarterly clip with no signs of stopping. Otherwise you wind up like Inergy LP which has seen its stock price cut in half as the distribution appears unsustainable. There are plenty of reasons to worry that the march higher could come to a halt at anytime or even (gasp!) drop for a few days in a row. You get the sense that everyone thinks markets can only go up these days. And that alone should be cause for concern.

Nat gas and oil continue to go their separate ways though nat gas at least seems to have stopped going down. Brent on the other hand has been up 6 out of the last seven days and is trying to breakout of this base that has formed in the past year. If 125 goes than look at above. I would think an event like that will be news driven and probably negative for equities overall.

In mlp land Holly Partners (HEP) is buying back its senior notes in a tender offer. The stock has been one of the better mlp performers of late. El Paso Partners (EPB) is putting up earnings this morning and DCP Midstream (DPM) will put their earnings up after the close.

Stock futures this morning are following Europe lower as the never ending Greece saga continues to...well....never end! Crude is pulling back a dollar on West Texas at 1o8 and Brent at 124. Gas here in the people's republic of NY is hovering around 4 dollars. Nat gas is flat at 2.55. The 10 year yield continues under 2%. Markets are due for some sort of pullback but betting on one lately has been a rather fruitless affair.

2012-02-23T09:26:00.002-05:00

BRENT APPROACHING $125!

One has to wonder where we are going here as far as the oil price is concerned. Brent ICE which is the world wide price is approaching 125 which would be the highest close since last May. Up until now stocks, oil, and the euro have been moving together. But i think we are getting to a point where the price in crude is disconnecting from economic activity. It is about Iran and Israel and other mideast threats. If crude breaks above 125 it will be due to some sort of news event. Is the market telegraphing Israel getting ready to take out Iran? If that happens look for oil to challenge its July 2008 high around 150 with gasoline at 5 bucks a gallon. This cannot be good.

MLPS open a little lower this morning. No news and no upgrades or downgrades. Moves at the open are small in nature for the most part. Euro markets are lower. Metals are higher and the dollar is higher against the yen but lower against everything else.

2012-02-21T12:35:00.002-05:00

New recovery highs for the dow, and nasdaq but not for the transports which are down over 1% today and that chart is not looking good these days.

MLPS down a fraction at lunch time. Plains All American (PAA) is down 1.25 and Alliance Resource (ARLP) is down 1 and change as the biggest losers in the group. EV Partners (EVEP) and Oneok LP (OKS) lead the winners list up 1 and change each. Everything else is moving fractionally in either direction.

2012-02-21T08:50:00.002-05:00

THE WINTER OF CONTENT!

The winter of discontent weather wise is in Europe with snow and bitter cold while the US experiences the opposite pretty much coast to coast. As far as markets go all are happy these days with the US markets the happiest and the march to 3 year highs on the dow, 11 year highs on Nasdaq, and all time highs on the mlp index continues.

At least with regards to the MLP index there is still no sign of a top and we are at 408 on the index as we begin a holiday shortened week. Point and figure charts have been bullish for months and have an upside target on the index at 475 which is another 20% higher from here. The key for mlps will be the 10 year rate which is at 2% this morning. If the 10 year begins a march higher then i would look for some pressure to come into mlp prices but so far the 10 year has not been able to break above 2% for any long period of time. 2.40% was the high back on October 24th 2011 and until that breaks, rates are probably stuck in a range which will be good for the group.

The dow chart meanwhile is doing its own adventure as it breaks above its 2011 high and heads for 13000 which is where it sits this morning. Futures are still pointing to a slightly higher open and we should see markets attempt to take that level out. Markets overall continue to take out every important level of resistance and i'm not sure what stands in the way of new all time highs all the way around. Still there is stress out there. Crude over 120 on Brent and gasoline approaching 5 dollars a gallon in California and 4 bucks here in NY are going to put the pressure on soon enough. But its okay because the government keeps telling us that unemployment is dropping and there is no inflation. The other technical stress on the chart for me is volume which continues to indicate that the same dollars are just being moved around the table.

In corporate news Williams Partners (WPZ) and Cabot Oil (COG) are forming a hub for nat gas in the northeast. Nat gas is still well under 3 bucks so why not while its cheap. We are only going to ship it overseas because we can't use it here. Otherwise its a quiet Tuesday morning with no other headlines and no upgrades or downgrades.

2012-02-15T12:19:00.003-05:00

STILL STRADDLING 400!

MLPS are holding tight around the 400 line. Except for Terra Nitrogen (TNH) which is now at 239 and up another 15 dollars (the apple of mlps!) most mlps are moving fractionally in either direction.

The dow is down 20 points right now but the nasdaq is up 25 with Apple at 525 and going parabolic.
The nasdaq 100 is up 11 out of the last 13 days. There is some speculative fever developing here so i would watch the tape carefully. This can't go on for much longer without a sizeable break. Meanwhile back to mlps which are just doing their own thing in here but the chart does appear like we are at a place where tops could be formed. Still no sign of trouble. But again the overall tape action today has me a bit distressed.

Nat gas meanwhile is back dow to challenge its lows around 2.20 and there really is no reason for nat gas to do anything other than breakdown below this level. Non existent winter and 100 years worth of supply and growing are not exactly bullish reasons for prices to go higher.

2012-02-14T11:00:00.002-05:00

MIRROR MIRROR ON THE WALL
WHO IS THE CRAP-IEST MLP OF ALL?

The answer of course is everyone's favorite crap stock Terra Nitrogen which has broken out above 200 and sits at 225 this morning. Its usually not one of the mlps i pay close attention to but its noteworthy to have an mlp trading in a place where Apple Computer once traded. You don't have to be a tech stock to achieve double par! And with demand good here no doubt we will see this one go even higher as long as the market holds together.

Meanwhile back in the oil and gas patch the mlp index has been straddling the 400 level for the last couple of weeks and we are at a breakout or fake out point here. Tail winds are still bullish so unless we get an overall market reversal of unusual magnitude the path of least resistence is higher. We have passed the ex distribution days and checks are in the mail to arrive over the next couple of days so enjoy these fabulous yields which continue uninterrupted.

Dow chart remains in bull mode here. No sign of any pending top though i have noticed that the vix is back near 20 after getting down to 16 last week. I suppose some people are a little nervous and we have a dow 15k front page of Barrons. So far this morning some selling with the dow down 40 and the nasdaq down 15. MLPS however are up a fraction near 401. Buckeye Partners (BPL) Atlas Pipeline (APL) and Markwest (MWE) are the biggest losers this morning down 50 cents or so. Buckeye got downgraded to sell yesterday by Citigroup. Nustar (NS) Energy Transfer (ETP) and Holly Partner (HEP) are up fractions; about 50 cents or so as the biggest winners with everyone else somewhere in between. Nat gas is up 3% for who knows why. Crude is also up over 100 bucks again.

Sorry for the lack of posts lately but life has been quite busy and i'm trying to settle into a new schedule. I appreciate your patience.

2012-02-08T08:41:00.003-05:00

IS IT A BASE OR A DIVING BOARD?

I suppose the answer to the question posed above is going to depend on whether the world circles the drain or not. That 1.69 bottom from last October has held on several recent attempts down and the bond market is testing the top of the range in yields as it sits around 2%. It ran to 2.40% back on October when Europe solved its problems (again). 2.04 puts us above the 34 day moving average for the first time in awhile. The question for me is whether the yield rise is in response to genuine economic activity improvement and the end of the flight to safety trade. Or is something else?

Since the MLP index has been in a stair step ascent for months lets see if we can get clues from here since it is going to be rate sensitive. So far 400 has held as the top but the chart is not exactly telling us anything bad here. Trading has been sideways the last 2 weeks as traders move money into riskier assets. So at least for now we have no impending doom being indicated here.

Now back to the something else. This is the S&P chart and i would like to point out a couple of things. One is that we are back almost to the same spot we were a year ago around 1350. That Feb top last year began a sideways move that built the spring top and then followed by the August meltdown. I don't think anyone would argue that a pullback here would necessarily be a bad thing.
However look at the bottom of this chart and notice how subdued volume continues to be. Its as if the same poker chips are basically being moved around the table with no new players coming in. Now what if the lack of volume is a result of liquidity being squeezed out of the system in spite of the fed actions. And what if the rise in the 10 year is being caused not by an end to the safety trade but because we are at the beginning of a world wide liquidity implosion? At least its some food for thought here going foward. Make no mistake that for now the path of least resistance remains higher. In fact if the S&P takes out 1350-1360 decisiviely than i think we could make a run to new all time highs. But there are ghosts out there.

Stock futures are higher again this morning on that endless waiting for the Greece deal that never comes but nobody really seems to care about anymore. The stock Euro trade continues tied together and the Euro is a little higher around 132 this morning. Nat gas is testing its bottom again and if it breaks, look for a 1 handle. Oil is making another run to 100.

2012-02-06T08:38:00.003-05:00

THE ODD RELATIONSHIPS!

Charts when you really think about them tell stories. This morning we have up three charts that you might normally see here so lets see what stories these charts are telling us and if any of them can remotely tell us where we are going.

Above is the 10 year. Notice the spike bottom at 1.69 back in late Sept/early October which also marked the market bottom (October 4 to be precise). From there we had a spike up to 2.40 when we learned from the Europeans that their debt problems were solved. Since then its been lower highs and 2 tests of 1.80 and so far the 10 year remains under 2. Europe's problems as we know are far from being solved.

Now we have the dow chart which has gone to 3 1/2 year highs as of Friday's close as markets here have figured out that Europe is Europe and while things are not great here, they are not falling off the cliff. So with everyone bearish markets took the path of least resistance and that was to move higher.

Now we have MLPS which really didn't have anything to do with Europe but followed the market down in August and September but then rebounded to new all time highs and now has been struggling with 400 on the index.

What does this all mean? Well quite frankly im not sure. The bond market seldom gets things wrong and it remains stubbornly under 2. It still seems to think Europe matters. Our stock market has pretty muched shrugged all of it off and is looking at stronger domestic data and moving up. MLPS which are essentially bond proxies were actually down in the face of last Friday's stock surge. I think that is mainly because people are moving into growth and away from the dividend payers as risk appetite appears to be increasing. MLPS not going to new highs here could be a lead signal that bonds are finally topping out.

In the end what do we do with all this? Honestly im not sure. Its hard for me to envision that with the dow at 3 1/2 year highs and nasdaq at its highs closed since way back in late 2000 that markets have more upside, but i though that many points ago. More people have been left dead and buried in the last few years on the notion that the secular bull market in bonds is over. So in the in end we have MLPS who just go about doing their business of moving oil and gas and raising distribtutions (for the most part) every quarter. To which the investor should just play along on the bull side until the bell rings that the party is over. So far im not ready to ring that bell but the dishes are being washed and the dessert has been served. It is getting late in the game.

Stock futures this morning are down at last check as Euro worries are around this morning about whether Greece will or won't default. Thats pretty much the same worry for the last 2000 points of dow upside. Oil is down on the idea that Iran may or may not attack Israel and Europe may or may not embargo them. Nat gas seems to be trying to put a floor around the low 2 dollar range as it has held that area twice. Its a rest stop on the way to zero. And the Euro is lower against a rallying dollar and rising bonds. So after a lower open my guess is that stocks will find a floor and try and move higher as that has been the recent trend.

2012-01-31T11:25:00.003-05:00

MLPS UP BUT MARKETS TURNING LOWER

MLPS which have been pulling back over the last few days are a touch higher for now as 10 year rates push to 1.80 and look to challenge that 1.69 intraday low from last August. Meanwhile markets are setting up for what appears to be an outside reversal day. After opening 60 points higher the dow is now down 70 points on weak economic news. Chicago PMI is down to its lowest levels since last August and might be putting recession back on the table..

Still the dow chart says the uptrend is intact and the dow needs to crack below 12,000 to take out all the support levels we watch. So far now its just end of month profit taking and nothing more.

Enterprise Products Partners (EPD) and Kinder Morgan (KMP) are up about 50 cents apiece and make up for most of the gain in the mlp index which is also up about .50. Most mlps right now are either flat or fractionally lower. Inergy (NRGY) is back over 18 on earnings news which we knew were going to be light. The company pointed to a possible distribution cut last week which took the stock from 23 to 18.

Energy stocks are weak as a whole as Exxon earnings were in line but disappointing to some. Nat gas has stopped going up and is down hard today as it resumes its trip to zero.

2012-01-30T09:55:00.002-05:00

MLPS OPEN LOWER, NUSTAR & INERGY UP FRONT

Monday morning blues here in the markets as we are back on Euro focus with another one of their silly summits where nothing gets accomplished. Dow down 100 points right now which is in order considering the unrelenting run we've had since January 1st. Nustar (NS) got a downgrade from Citigroup to neutral and the stock is down 1.50. Inergy LP (NRGY) which is down 50% from its highs is up 44 cents as of this post. It lost over 4 Friday on the probability fo a distribution cut coming. The mlp index is down 2.58 right now as the pullback from 400 continues. Also Kinder Morgan (KMP) continues to pull back from near 90 and its down over 1 point today.

Overall, markets are due for some correction here. Whether this evolves into something more serious depends on news items beyond our control. Europe, Greece, Portugal, etc all making noises with no deal in Greece and the buzzards circling around Portugal. MLPS are as extended as anything else out there that has rallied. The VIX has spiked above 20 and it will be interesting to see if it can hold above there. Crude is down. Nat gas is up as it continues its dead cat bounce rally from down around 2.20.

2012-01-27T12:32:00.002-05:00

MLPS are down over 6 points and money rushes out. Kinder Morgan (KMP) is down 2.57 and Inergy LP (NRGY) is down over 4 points as the threat of a distribution cut looms. Since the stock price here has been cut in half it seems that the company plans the cut the distribution in half. The company did an IPO of its midstream assets a few months ago. You wonder whether that was such a good idea.

Dow down about 85. Nasdaq is up a couple. The tape is feeling the pull and tug and looks sloppy overall in here.

2012-01-27T10:02:00.000-05:00

Inergy (NRGY) has broken below 20 and is down 3.11.

2012-01-27T09:49:00.002-05:00

INERGY MAY CUT PAYOUT!

In a time when MLPS have been the stars of the market, one mlp diverged from that pattern and began selling off back in May and has been almost been cut in half. Inergy (NRGY) this morning announced its distribution (which had no increase) but more importantly is what the company said in the press release.

"management and the board of directors of Inergy are evaluating a reset of the quarterly distribution to a level that is supportable by the cash flow expected to be generated from Inergy’s businesses in the near term."

Reset means a cut. In the mlp world the one commandment is thou shall not cut the payout. And when you look at the stock price haircut, the market is telling us that the reset may be rather large.

Also moving down this morning by 2 points is Kinder Morgan Partners (KMP) which was on its way to 90 bucks when we get this technical note from Carter Worth who tells us that Kinder Morgan technically is trading at an unsustainable level. The stock is taking a 2 point hit and we now have the mlp index down almost 5 and under the 400 market on the index. Looks like a long overdue pullback is occuring in mlps. As long as the overall trends remain in place however any pullback is a another buying opportunity.

Markets overall reversed yesterday and this morning we are a little lower on a soft GDP number. The tape still holds a positive undertone to it and until we see a decisive move downward, the uptrend remains intact. Volume however remains a sticking point in this rally as it continues to spiral downward. At some point that might matter but we are still not at that particular point.

Sorry for the lack of posts this week but sometimes this stuff does burn you out a bit.

2012-01-23T11:20:00.002-05:00

THE INTERSECTION OF RALLY &
CRITICAL JUNCTURE!

It the day after the Giants win of the NFC CHAMPIONSHIP! so i hope you will forgive me for this late first post. Markets of course have been ignoring everything over the last 3 months and the rally has continued marching higher but we have reached a point here where it will be break out or brickwall. The mlp index which has been strong all through this rally phase continues being led higher by Kinder Morgan Partners (KMP) which is up 1 and at another all time high. The index is trying to scale above 400 on a closing basis and its up over 3 right now.

News of the messiah's rejection of the Keystone Pipeline Project has existing pipeline stocks attracting cash, especially those with rich distributions and dividends. No new pipeline just makes the ones that exist that much more attractive. Meanwhile the dow industrials are approaching 52 week highs and its either going to make for a beautiful obvious triple top formation or we are the point where we will breakout above it and head for dow 13000 or even higher.

The 10 year yield has broken above 2% which is at least a sign that the safety trade is beginning to come off. Also we have the vix now at 18 which is telling us that fear is quickly disappearing. So all is right with the world at least for now. Pullbacks intra day have been very shallow. And the market doesn't seem to care even if Google is taken out and shot. So let the rally continue as we watch this area for longer term clues. For MLPS its 400 or bust! We're at 399 as i type.

Spectra Energy (SEP) is announcing a distribtuion hike which is the only news of note this morning. My God even nat gas is rallying today. Overnight it traded as low as 2.25 so this is a long overdue dead cat bounce.

2012-01-19T11:46:00.001-05:00

NAT GAS DEATH SPIRAL!

Perfect example of what an ugly chart looks like!

2012-01-19T09:11:00.004-05:00

THE RALLY CONTINUES!

MLPS seem to making another assault on 400 on the index. Earnings and distribution hikes are kicked off by Kinder Morgan (KMP) who put up earnings yesterday and another distribution hike. Usually these things are pretty much priced in to the equation and we might see a little selling on the news. MLPS will pretty much follow the overall tape which continues to just rally along. And while MLPS are near the top of the range, the rest of the market seems to be playing catch up

The dow is near the two tops of 2011. This will be a critical area for the markets overall. Are we putting in a major top here? If you believe that the economy will continue to improve than the answer to that question is no. If you believe that the world is about to begin another circling of the drain, the answer is now. Its that simple folks. For now the path of least resistance is higher.

Definitely circling the drain is nat gas which is down another dime and sitting at $2.41! The non winter and unending supply has simply caused prices to crash.
This is about as ugly as a chart gets. This is what free fall looks like and there is no sign of a bottom whatsoevr. An oversold bounce is due after being down 7 days in a row and 11 out of 13. But who knows when that comes and what the catalyst is. Crude oil now sells for over 40 times the price of nat gas. 20 used to be the wall!

Markets are set to open a little higher and my guess is buyers will push the tape up as the day wears on.

2012-01-17T12:50:00.002-05:00

CHART DAY!!!!

Late first post but this is what happens after a holiday weekend and you have to come back from a nice weekend with the deer in Pennsylvania. The market began by playing catch up to Europe which of course rallied after the S&P downgrades last Friday. The downgrades themselves are utterly meaningless to the markets and if I were S&P, Fitch, and Moody's, i would recognize that their downgrades continue to come pretty late in the game. The dow industrials ran up 150 but are now up about 100 points. The tick (net uptics/downtics) has been running negative much of the day so far so sellers are around here. Financials aren't rallying today for the most part thanks to Citigroup and its earnings (so called) so we watch the tape for signs of a top in the October rally. Each attempted top has been aborted and we have gone on the new highs but only marginally so. Except for the dow industrials and the mlp index we are barely above the October 24th high. So i figured lets put up some charts and see what they are telling us.

The nasdaq 100 is making its 5th attempt to break out above 2400. Either this is a monstrous top being formed or we will breakout decisively out of a long base that goes back to the beginning of 2011. The S&P 500 meanwhile hasn't even gotten back to its 2011 highs yet and it is struggling here at 1300 even.

The MLP index meanwhile has taken out its 2011 high and remains in an uptrend although it is only break even since January 1st. Its attempt to rally to 400 has failed and it looks like its mounting another try. Its up 2 on the day today being led by Kinder Morgan (KMP) which is up 1 ahead of earnings.

The last chart i thought was pretty interesting and that is the index of nat gas stocks. Now to look at nat gas today it is down 5% and sits at an amazing $2.45. We have been told by so many experts how 3 dollars was the wall. Well guess what? We are closer to 2 than 3 thanks to endless supply and a non existent winter in the US this year. That base at 620 doesn't look likely to hold here if the commodity itself continues to circle the drain and demand overall continues to contract.

What are we to conclude from all this? Well for now it seems rather ambiguous. The market continues to rally overall in the face of Europe. The economic numbers here are not exactly ramping up. Energy stocks as a whole seemed to be rolling over as the same money gets moved around from group to group. MLPS continue to do okay. Earnings and distribution annoucements begin this week and increases are already priced in. Still 6% yield continues to attract cash against a 10 year at 1.85%. Short term the market appears to want to go higher, but at some point you have to ask yourself whether any of this is sustainable given what is going on out in the world. And i keep asking myself the same question. If the world is getting better, why oh why is the 10 year still under 2%? As for MLPS, our bull market here began in December of 2008 and has begun its 4th year. No sign of a top, at least not yet.

2012-01-13T15:12:00.002-05:00

Here is what the left thinks of the collapse in nat gas prices. They are not happy.

Markets trying to rally back with the dow down 60 and mlps are now up on the day for the first time in 6 days. Bulls still in control.

2012-01-13T14:02:00.001-05:00

Everyone seems to know that S&P is going to cut ratings across the eurozone. I guess they are waiting for the market close. Dow off 101, Nasdaq down 22, MLPS down about 2.

2012-01-13T11:47:00.002-05:00

Dow cut its losses in 1/2 as we head into lunch. No news yet on S&P downgrades. MLPS down 1.50 on the index which a is off its lows of minus 2. Euro down 1.5 cents off its low of down 2 cents. Should be a fascinating afternoon. The way the tape has traded lately, don't be surprised if the market runs toward unchanged by days end.

2012-01-13T10:17:00.002-05:00

DOWNGRADES COMING? MLPS DOWN 6 IN A ROW!

Markets were due for a pullback and they are getting one in a big way this morning so far with the dow down 135 and mlps down nearly 2 points. A S&P downgrade of Europe appears imminent according to news sources. Now lets go back to last August. The S&P downgrade of the US came in Early August which took the S&P down from 1250 to 1100 in a hurry. Now comes word that the Greek haircut would be forced instead of voluntary which means default as negotiations breakdown. The Euro is down 2 cents on that news. So now we've come to some sort of breaking point. Is the rally that began in October over? Now as i type we have Reuters reporting that S&P has downgraded France.

Meanwhile the mlp index is down 6 days in a row after reaching 396. Energy stocks as a whole have been selling off since the year began as money seems to be going from last year's winners to last years losers. Net net this is not good as we are basically moving the same chips around the table with no new money coming in.

Attention continues to center in energy on the implosing of nat gas which went from holding 3 bucks to 2.65 in a hurry. Energy producers who have been going head first into nat gas may have earnings issues (see Chevron). MLPS seem to be suffering from the money flow out of energy but getting support from the collapsing 10 year yield which is heading fast to 1.80% and it looks like we will retest 1.69% which we got to last October.

On the coporate side Copano did a public offering of shares so its down 1.40 right now. Not much else happening here. No upgrades or downgrades. Targa Natural Resources (NGLS) took the distribution up again by 3%. We should be hearing from the bulk of mlps next week.

Dow and MLPS just off the lows of the day here.

LIKE WATCHING PAINT DRY!

2012-01-12T15:17:00.001-05:00

Overall market boring. Energy lower. Mlps down 1.50 on the index. Snooze!

2012-01-12T13:38:00.002-05:00

MLPS A LITTLE LOWER AS MARKETS FLOUNDER!

We opened up, then turned down, then turned up, then turned down again but not by much in either direction. MLPS were up..then down 2 pts on the index and then back to near the flat line. Energy stocks as a whole have been selling off for a few day as nat gas continues to implode to under 2.70. It seems that nat gas is dropping because we have so much of it that we are actually exporting cheap energy for others to use! MLPS seem to be suffering from rotation money moving out and into other things. The market is up 20% since the October low but we are about where we are since late October. So for all the movement we really haven't gone anywhere.

Most mlps are churning fractionally in either direction of unchanged as there are no corporate drivers out there. Noticing now that crude and gold are coming off their highs of the day. The Euro is up 1 cent against the dollar because apparently they had a couple of good bond auctions so all their problems are solved.