Halliburton Announces Second Quarter Income and Earnings HAL

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) announced today that income from continuing operations for the second quarter of 2013 was $677 million, or $0.73 per diluted share. This compares to income from continuing operations for the first quarter of 2013 of $624 million, or $0.67 per diluted share, excluding a $637 million charge, after-tax, or $0.68 per diluted share, to increase a reserve related to the Macondo litigation.

Halliburton's total revenue in the second quarter of 2013 was a company record of $7.3 billion, compared to $7.0 billion in the first quarter of 2013. Operating income was $1.0 billion in the second quarter of 2013, compared to operating income of $902 million in the first quarter of 2013, adjusted for the Macondo charge. For the first quarter of 2013, reported loss from continuing operations was $13 million, or $0.01 per diluted share, and reported operating loss was $98 million.

“I am pleased with our second quarter results, as total company revenue of $7.3 billion was a record quarter for Halliburton,” commented Dave Lesar, chairman, president and chief executive officer.

“Looking at our product lines, Baroid, Cementing, Completion Tools, Multi-Chem, and Testing set quarterly revenue records, while Baroid, Testing, and Artificial Lift all set quarterly operating income records.

“Relative to our primary competitors, we have delivered leading year-over-year international revenue growth for five consecutive quarters. Eastern Hemisphere operations grew revenue 11% sequentially, resulting from record revenues in both of our regions, and operating income was up 23%.

“Middle East / Asia, our fastest growing market, improved revenue 12% and operating income 17% sequentially. This across the board growth was led by higher stimulation, wireline, and fluids activity in Malaysia, and improved sales in China.

Read the entire Halliburton earnings report


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18.23% Return Produced During July Option Expiration Cycle

As we move through the July monthly option expiration which will occur on July 19, 2013 at the close of business we can look back at the expiration cycle that was. The end of the June monthly option expiration nearly marked the recent market lows. Since the beginning of the July expiration cycle we have seen the S&P 500 Index charge higher.

The recent performance in the Options Trading Signals portfolio has charged higher as well. There were 4 trades that were closed during the July expiration cycle. The 4 trades that were closed had a total gross gain of $169 per spread. The total risk assumed in the 4 closed trades was $927. Thus, the four trades produced a gross return on maximum risk of 18.23%.

A trader that risked roughly $2,500 per spread would have had a gross gain of $1,951 for the month of July. The table below demonstrates the trades that were closed during this expiration cycle.



In full disclosure, there were three trades that were rolled forward as price action did not accommodate trade expectations. However, the overall results of the OTS Portfolio since the beginning of the June expiration cycle have been outstanding. The full trade performance is shown below based on actual trading results from the portfolio.



Since the beginning of the June monthly option expiration cycle, the Portfolio has closed 15 total trades. In that time frame only 1 trade has produced a loss and that trade essentially was breakeven overall. The total recent trading results speak for themselves.

Since inception, the OTS Portfolio has taken 171 trades publicly that have been opened and closed. Of the 171 trades executed, 125 trades have produced gains. This equates to over a 73% success rate for all trades that have been opened and closed for the OTS Portfolio since late 2010. It is not a coincidence that the typical probability of success that I focus on for the service is between 60% – 80% probability at the time of trade entry.

Overall, the OTS Portfolio continues to generate strong trading returns while providing members with an opportunity to look over a professional trader’s shoulder to watch how trades are evaluated and when they are taken and why.

The OTS portfolio strategy is focused on a mathematical approach to trading options that gives traders a probability based edge. No more red and green arrows, no more charts with 500 indicators, and no more confusion. The system used is simple and has proven that strong trading results are possible when simple discipline is applied.

If you are looking for a mathematical and statistical based approach to trading, Options Trading Signals service may be a perfect fit to improve your option trading results.  


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Per Wullf to succeed Fredrik Halvorsen as Chief Executive Officer at SeaDrill SDRL

The Board of Seadrill has today announced that Per Wullf will succeed Fredrik Halvorsen as Chief Executive Officer of Seadrill Management Limited. Mr. Halvorsen has decided to leave Seadrill to join Ubon Partners, a technology venture.

Mr. Wullf has worked for Seadrill since February 2009 as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. Prior to Seadrill, he held several senior positions in Maersk, most recently as Managing Director of Maersk Contractors in Norway. He has 33 years of experience in the drilling industry, including 17 years in international and offshore operations.

John Fredriksen, Chairman of the Board of Directors said, "The Board would like to express its thanks to Fredrik Halvorsen for his contribution to the Fredriksen group of companies since he joined us in 2010. His track record of managing organizational change brought a much needed skillset to our businesses, including the successful transition of Seadrill Management from Norway to London this year. Mr. Halvorsen will leave the Company at the end of July, and we wish him all the best in the technology venture.

"Since joining Seadrill in 2009, Mr. Wullf's focus on operational performance during a period of phenomenal growth has allowed Seadrill to establish a track record of delivering safe and efficient operations for its customers. He has established strong relationships and an excellent reputation among our major customers and vendors.

"In his new position, Mr. Wullf will retain a strong focus on the operational performance of the fleet, and for the time being will also retain his position as the Company's Chief Operating Officer. Some functions which have previously been a part of the CEO's responsibilities such as investor presentations, corporate transactions, and financing will to a large extent be assumed by the CFO Rune Magnus Lundetrae and the CAO Rob Hingley-Wilson. This is being done in order for Mr. Wullf to maintain maximum focus on Seadrill's expansion and operation.

"The Board, including myself, will continue to be very actively involved in the strategic development of the Company as well as monitoring the Company's operation. With his strong track record, Mr. Wullf is a natural choice for the Board to ensure a smooth transition and bring Seadrill to the next level. Together with the support of his first class team and the industry's most modern equipment, we look forward to continued success and growth."

Seadrill has a versatile fleet comprising of 62 units, including newbuilds under construction. The fleet operates across five continents supported by over 7,500 employees worldwide.


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Kinder Morgan Energy Partners (NYSE: KMP) today increased its quarterly cash distribution per common unit to $1.32 ($5.28 annualized) payable on Aug. 14, 2013, to unitholders of record as of July 31, 2013. This represents a 7 percent increase over the second quarter 2012 cash distribution per unit of $1.23 ($4.92 annualized) and is up from $1.30 per unit ($5.20 annualized) for the first quarter of 2013. KMP has increased the distribution 48 times since current management took over in February 1997.

Chairman and CEO Richard D. Kinder said, “KMP had a strong second quarter as our stable and diversified assets continued to grow and produce incremental cash flow. Our five business segments produced approximately $1.337 billion in segment earnings before DD&A and certain items, up 39 percent from the second quarter of 2012. Growth was spearheaded by the drop downs from Kinder Morgan, Inc. associated with its acquisition of El Paso Corporation last year, contributions from the midstream assets we recently acquired in the Copano Energy transaction, strong oil production in our CO2 segment and good results at our Products Pipelines business.

Looking forward, we see exceptional growth opportunities across all of our business segments, as there is a need to build additional midstream infrastructure to move or store oil, gas and liquids from the prolific shale plays in the United States and the oilsands in Alberta, along with increasing demand for CO2, which is used for enhanced oil recovery. We currently have identified approximately $13 billion in expansion and joint venture investments at KMP and we are pursuing customer commitments for additional projects.”

Read the entire KMP earnings report.



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Free Webinar: An evening with Carolyn "The Fibonacci Queen" Boroden Wednesday, July 17th at 8:00PM est

Time is running out to get your seat for Wednesdays webinar with Carolyn "The Fibonacci Queen" Boroden and John Carter of Simpler Options. So sign up now!

For years Carolyn Boroden has been using and teaching fund managers Fibonacci based market geometry and symmetry that provides the edge needed to succeed in choosing your entry and exits points for your biggest trades. And you can easily use these methods whether you are trading stocks, currencies, ETFs or commodities.

In this Free webinar Carolyn and John will show us......

*     How to identify Fibonacci support & resistance zones

*    The simple way to manage your risk/reward using Fibonacci ratios

*    The brain dead easy ways to set up your support & resistance zones

*     How you can identify what markets to trade and when

*    The secret to identifying high probability targets in stocks and ETFs .... and much more

Simply click here and fill out your email address, click submit and you will be automatically registered for the webinar.

Get your seat now for "How to Use Fibonacci Analysis in Your Trading"

See you on Wednesday,
Ray @ The Crude Oil Trader

Why Great Stocks Drop Hard and Reverse

Institutional sell programs and bots cause disruptions with David Banister, Chief Strategist at the Active Trading Partners......

One thing that will always over rule charts and technical analysis is fundamentals in the long run. To be sure, I love technical analysis but I always combine my work there with fundamental research. I rarely if ever buy a stock just because the chart looks nice, that is almost always a recipe for disaster.

With that said, how many times have you seen a good company with strong fundamentals and a seemingly great looking chart break down over 1-2 weeks and take everyone out of the trade? Then for sure, the stock reverses right back up all the way back to where the decline began? To make matters worse, this happens without any real news or any bad news as it were. What is it that causes these crazy down the mountain and up the mountain moves anyways?

Insitutional Sell Programs— sometimes referred to as “Bots” or “Algo” program trading

How does it work?

In an apparently strong fundamental growth stock with no apparent issues, an institution will have a pre-defined price at which point instructions are triggered to liquidate the entire position almost at any price once that price point is hit. They protect themselves ahead of time with Puts, which give them profits if the targeted stock drops hard while they are selling out of the position, thereby locking in their targeted sell price.

Lets take several examples, here's the 3 month charts to show you exactly how they look on paper.



Free Webinar with Carolyn "The Fibonacci Queen" Boroden "How to Use Fibonacci Analysis in Your Trading" this Wednesday, July 17th at 8:00PM est

Continuous Commodity Index Points to Rally in Gold & Silver

During the recent weeks we have seen commodities especially precious metals continue to drop in value. Market participant sentiment has become more bearish on commodities and couple that with a rising dollar it’s no wonder why we continue to see commodities as a whole fall in value.

Money has been flowing out of bonds at record levels this summer telling us most of market participants are feeling bullish on the stock market. This shift in sentiment of the masses are typical as they move their money from the risk on safer assets (bonds & commodities) and rotate into risk-on assets like stocks. While this is a bearish (contrarian sign) stocks could easily continue to rally for an extended period of time and possibly several more months before they actually top out.

Just click here and we'll take a look at the financial market business cycle diagram.



Don't miss this weeks Free Webinar with Carolyn "The Fibonacci Queen" Boroden. Just click here to attend "How to Use Fibonacci Analysis in Your Trading" Wednesday, July 17th at 8:00PM est

Free Webinar: How to Use Fibonacci Analysis in Your Trading Wednesday, July 17th at 8:00PM est

For years Carolyn Boroden has been using Fibonacci based market geometry and symmetry that provides the edge needed to succeed in choosing your entry and exits points for your biggest trades. And you can easily use these methods whether you are trading stocks, currencies, ETFs or commodities.

In this Free webinar Carolyn "The Fibonacci Queen" Boroden and "Simpler Options" John Carter will show us......

*     How to identify Fibonacci support & resistance zones

*    The simple way to manage your risk/reward using Fibonacci ratios

*    The brain dead easy ways to set up your support & resistance zones

*     How you can identify what markets to trade and when

*    The secret to identifying high probability targets in stocks and ETFs .... and much more

Simply click here and fill out your email address, click submit and you will be automatically registered for the webinar.

Watch "How to Use Fibonacci Analysis in Your Trading"

See you on Wednesday,
Ray @ The Crude Oil Trader

Weekly Precious Metals Market Recap with Mike Seery

The precious metals had one of the best weeks to the upside in quite some time because of statements from Ben Bernanke coming out basically stating he’s going to continue QE3 forever which put the fire under gold prices up 4 days in a row before Friday as profit taking set in down about $3 at 1,277 an ounce after settling last Friday 1,212 now trading at 1,278 above its 20 day moving average but below its 100 day moving average and now has started to form excellent chart structure with a possible bottom being formed in recent weeks hitting a 3 week high in yesterday’s trade.

I have been bearish gold and the precious metals for quite some time but I’m recommending to sit on the sidelines with a possible break out to the upside which is pretty amazing as I’ve been bearish forever but the trend can change very quickly so I’m looking at gold to the upside if it breaks out above 1300.

Silver futures for the September contract are right at their 20 day moving average but below their 100 day moving average also at a 3 week high also developing excellent chart structure settling last Friday at 18.73 up around $1.00 this week currently going out around 19.78 an ounce and if you’re looking to get long this market I would buy a futures mini contract and place a stop below the contract low risking around $1500 per contract.

Copper futures which I have been bearish for quite some time and now I’m neutral because it hit a 10 day high in yesterday’s trade also with excellent chart structure settling at 3.0650 last Friday currently going out around 3.17 a pound trading above its 20 day moving average with a possible short term bottom in place as the entire precious metal sector is starting to look bullish.

I’m still advising traders to sit on the sideline and wait for a 4 week high before entering and that could be next week especially if we have tighter trading ranges but the tide may have turned as Ben Bernanke refuses to let commodity, housing and stock prices to go down & he will do anything in is power to keep printing money and keep artificially inflating prices that should be much lower in my opinion.

This man has way too much power in my opinion there are 7 billion people on this planet with one person dictating everything & I think that is out of control & has never happened in the history of the world and I do believe one day this will end in a total disaster and I do mean total disaster.

Click here to check in with Mike on other weekly futures like the grains, sugar, orange juice, cotton, lumber and coffee.
 

How to Find Key Levels in Precious Metals to Take High Probability Trades

New video: Today's Crude Oil Trade....Key levels, entry and exit points, with John Carter

We are feeling lucky today as our trading partner John Carter of "Simpler Options" is sharing some of his trading techniques and he is using crude oil as an example in today's video.

But the key isn't the oil trade example you'll see, it's the strategy someone taught John that makes the huge trade possible. That someone is none other then the Fibonacci Queen, Carolyn Boroden.

The short video makes available to you the same strategy John uses when he trades oil and how he identifies entry targets and when to take profits.

Click here to watch "Today's Crude Oil Trade....Key levels, entry and exit points, with John Carter"