On Thursday September 3, the breaking news story was the fire that engulfed an oil and gas platform in the Gulf of Mexico owned by Mariner Energy, Inc. ( http://clicky.me/1VXq ). The platform was in shallow water and was non-oil producing so additional oil was spilled into the Gulf. All 13 workers who tumbled into the water were rescued. Mariner is currently in the process of being acquired by Apache Corporation, valuing Mariner at approximately $2.7 billion or $26/share. Given the potential loss of revenue and earnings for Mariner due to the fire and potential future regulations from the Obama administration, the Apache-Mariner deal could be in jeopardy.
Material Adverse Change?
Most merger agreements include a "Material Adverse Change" or "MAC" clause which allows the buyer to terminate the transaction in case of a material adverse change to the business of the seller. A material adverse change can be interpreted broadly, including but not limited to, a loss of a large client, a patent or trademark deemed important to the business, etc. The Market reacted yesterday to the news as the stock prices of Mariner declined 2.5%. One could interpret that the value of Mariner or its future business operations could be negatively affected in the following ways:
Shares of Mariner Energy declined almost 3% today after in explosion in one of the company's production platforms in the Gulf of Mexico today. The accident, on Mariner's Vermilion Oil Platform 380, took place about 80 miles south of Vermilion Bay, off he coast of Louisiana. The accident sent 13 workers tumbling into the ocean, but there were no casualties and little or nor oil appears to have spilled, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. A production platform is built after the drilling of an oil or gas well. It often remains in operation years later, pumping pressure down the well to keep the oil flowing. Some industry analysts speculated that since the platform is located in the Gulf Shell, which is not a deepwater area, the platform would not be subject to President Obama's ban on deep water drilling. However, according to Frank Verrastro, director of the energy and national-security program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C., "If anything, the Obama Administration's clam that a moratotium was needed to understand the causes of major accidents at offshore facilties - and how to stop them - was strengthened by Thursday's accident." . . . Stay tuned.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed below 10000 last week for the first time since July. After a >200 point gain Wednesday to close to 10269, U.S. stocks have been flat in reaction to positive data on housing and retail sales. Despite the positive economic data, along with an active market for mergers & acquisitions which can be seen as a bullish sign for the economy, investors are not expected to react strongly until the August employment report comes out on Friday. U.S. unemployment is currently 9.5% and is expected to tick up to 9.6% as employers cut another 110,000 jobs from their payrolls. There is a lot of chatter over the direction of the Market and investors have made bets on (i) a sharp decline to as low as 5000 and (ii) on a long-term increase due to a recovering economy. Charlie Smith, chief investment officer of Fort Pitt Capital Group told the Wall Street Journal the following on the direction of the Market:
You put in years of hard work and grinding it out and every once in a while, a "light bulb" goes off and someone recognizes your game. That's what happened for Nick Smith in Black Hole this summer. After a bevy of "no look" passes and jaw dropping moves where he mixed defenders against the Brooklyn Heat, Nick earned the nickname "60 Watt Lightbulb". He then followed up that performance with three 3-point baskets to lead the Shock Exchange to a last second victory against Quick Time out of Newark, NJ, and the name stuck. Having your name ring out from park to park, is every NYC b-baller's dream, and Nick definitely electried the crowd and brought some special moments this summer. Will the 60 Watt Lightbulb shine bright this afternoon in our 4pm play-off game against Starrett City? There's only one way to find out. Keep reading to see a picture of Nick when he was only "30 Watts".
HBO's Hard Knocks is in its fourth season and I have never watched a full season. However, the version featuring the NY Jets is becoming my favorite show. A diehard Redskins fan, the Jets made me a believer last year and I would love to see them win it all. I am also a big fan of Rex Ryan, the Jets' colorful coach. However, last night's interchange with Redskins' DeAngelo Hall where he said "C'mon . . . you aren't going to tackle anybody . . . That's why my brother cut your ass" [Ryan's brother was defensive coordinator in Oakland], sort of crossed the line from harmless sideline banter into a personal attack. I have never seen or heard of Rex Ryan tackling anybody, nor have I ever heard of his or his brother's exploits on the playing field. Now that I think of it, if they were required to demonstrate their abilities to "pass, punt, and kick", half of the coaches in the NFL wouldn't be there.
Five Star, Soccer Camp, Ramadan and Shaquille Upson too much for the Shock Exchange . . .
On August 26 the Shock Exchange entered the first round of the play-offs at Black Hole. Hyped up after an OT loss to a stacked Pythons team, the kids were poised to keep its string of strong performances going. However, the team would not have its full arsenal as Kamal (2012) and Ralphie (2013) were away at Five Star Camp and soccer camp, respectively. Then add in the fact that Abou(2012), a force inside all year, was weakened from fasting during Ramadan, Coach Baker knew the kids would have to play near a perfect game to extend our season. Nontheless, the kids stepped onto the court against a local Fort Greene team giddy, and expecting it to be "business as usual". Both teams traded baskets early but the opposition's full court press caused several silly mistakes which led to easy baskets, and its "1-2" punch of "AJ" (2012) and Shaquille ("Shaq") Upson (2013) gave us fits. Coach Baker cracked the proverbial whip, mashed on the gas, and waited for the team to respond as usual. However, we had no answer for the Fort Greene kids looking to defend their "home court". Things only got worse in the second half as Shaq not only had his way, began to verbally remind Coach Baker how nice his game was.
"Pythons versus the New York Shock Exchange up next. You do not want to miss this game! Ladies in gentlemen please remain in your seats. This is going to be a show" . . . Truer words were never spoken by the Black Hole announcer. Then News 12 arrived to cover the game and showed highlights later on that night . . . CREAM SON!
On Sunday August 15th the Shock Exchange entered a packed Edmonds Park in Fort Greene to face the Pythons out of Queens. The parked was packed with fans to see the action and opposing coaches to scout the Pythons and see if the Shock Exchange was really "That Team", or merely a myth from urban lore. When the Pythons showed up with the backcourt from Holy Cross, Marquise Moore and Will Davis, ranked 48th and 9th in Class of 2012 by NYHoops.com , respectively, I figured it would be a long day. Long and athletic inside, tough and poised in the backcourt, the Pythons are one of the favorites to take Black Hole, in the heart of Fort Greene. But nobody told that to our kids. The Shock Exchange jumped on the Pythons early, dissecting their zone defense to jump out to an early lead. The Pythons switched to "man-to-man" but it was more of the same . . . Shumba, Abou, and Kamal inside . . . DeSean, The Coach's Son and the 60 Watt Lightbulb outside. The Pythons countered a dose of Moore and Davis, and inside toughness to contest shots and rebound the ball. At the half the Shock Exchange led by 12 points and the entire Edmonds Park was buzzing over the potential upset. However, Coach Baker was worried that the Pythons still remained within striking distance.
House Republican Leader John Boehner called on President Obama to fire his economic team, saying White House Policies have failed to get people back to work. With the November elections approaching, Republicans are scrambling to blame the country's economic weakness on the failed policies of the Obama administration and ultimately, the Democratic Party as a whole. In a speech made in Cleveland, OH on Tuesday, Boehner took shots at Obama. "We do not have the luxury of waiting months for the president to pick scapegoats for his failing stimulus policies . . . We've tried for 19 months of government-as-community-organizer. It hasn't worked." However, the headline grabbing part of the speech was Boehner's call for the resignations of Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and National Economic Council Director Lawrence Summers. A case of "Monday Morning Quarterback?" You decide.
News reberating throughout the basketball community is that Rajon Rondo was recently cut from Team USA. Guards Eric Gordon, Stephen Curry, Chauncey Billups, Derrick Rose and Russell Westbrook representing the USA in the World Basketball Games instead. After watching the USA vs. Spain on Sunday, the Americans are pretty "thin" across the front line and will be at a size disadvantage during the entire games. Without a rebounding and scoring advantage, Team USA needs everyone to carry his own weight in terms of scoring and defense. Rondo's lack of outside shooting, which is "masked" when surrounded by the likes of Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, and Kevin Garnett, would make him less of a "fit" for this team than say Eric Gordon or Steph Curry. Rondo has been key to the Celtics' postseason success in recent years, but the media's tendency to put him on par with Darin Williams and Chris Paul is reflective of the success of the Celtics as a team and not Rondon's individual talent. In an attempt to sugar coat Team USA's decision to cut Rondo, Jerry Colangelo had this to say:
One of my favorite shows is HBO's Hard Knocks featuring the New York Jets. Rex Ryan, "The Terminator", Darelle Revis and company were very entertaining last week. After coming home late last night I immediately went to the DVR and pulled up the latest episode. One of the more interesting scenes was the segment on DB Antonio Cromartie. I thought it cute when he mentioned his duties as a father and started naming his kids. But 10 minutes later, dude was still talking and my son was like "Still going?" When discussing his kids, dude is like the energizer bunny, he goes on . . . and on . . . and on.
Shares of Mariner Energy declined almost 3% today after in explosion in one of the company's production platforms in the Gulf of Mexico today. The accident, on Mariner's Vermilion Oil Platform 380, took place about 80 miles south of Vermilion Bay, off he coast of Louisiana. The accident sent 13 workers tumbling into the ocean, but there were no casualties and little or nor oil appears to have spilled, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. A production platform is built after the drilling of an oil or gas well. It often remains in operation years later, pumping pressure down the well to keep the oil flowing. Some industry analysts speculated that since the platform is located in the Gulf Shell, which is not a deepwater area, the platform would not be subject to President Obama's ban on deep water drilling. However, according to Frank Verrastro, director of the energy and national-security program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C., "If anything, the Obama Administration's clam that a moratotium was needed to understand the causes of major accidents at offshore facilties - and how to stop them - was strengthened by Thursday's accident." . . . Stay tuned.
