MASTER LIMITED PARTNERSHIPS

Thursday, August 21, 2008

We are up 2 points on the MLP index as we charged out of the gate and the strength is fairly broad on the list. Thats not to say there aren't some losers but they are down mostly by small fractions or in the case of Inergy Holdings (NRGP) which is down 90 cents on very light volume. Its one uptick away from being up on the day.

Natural Resource Partners(NRP) leads the winners list up 1 and some change. Coal mlps are fractionally higher. Targa (NGLS) is up 44 cents on the Citigroup upgrade. Buckeye (BPL) Atlas Pipeline (APL) Teppco (TPP) and Energy Transfer Partners (ETP) among the fractional gainers.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...: Oil is up on Stalin's...oops, Putin's aggression but I worry about a market-wide down-leg this fall pulling MLPs with it.

Still, I am accumulating...but keeping a large cash reserve for better opportunities (especially in other sectors) ahead.

Bruce; 8/21/2008 11:08 AM
Anonymous said...: The NGLS seller is still there, but it appears that he's done selling WPZ. This guy is an idiot!; 8/21/2008 11:52 AM
Anonymous said...: "he's done selling WPZ. This guy is an idiot!"

Perhaps. He may not have had a choice. In any event, he gave me a good (I hope great) entry point into WPZ.

Bruce; 8/21/2008 11:58 AM
Anonymous said...: Kayne Anderson just hosted a conference call discussing the group. Couldn't have been more bullish, especially on valuations.; 8/21/2008 12:12 PM
Anonymous said...: Now is APL can just get off the canvas...; 8/21/2008 12:14 PM
Anonymous said...: To the Kayne Anderson poster:

Any idea if they have a public link to their conference call. I couldn't find one on their site.

Lee; 8/21/2008 12:25 PM
Anonymous said...: HOUSTON, TX--(Marketwire - August 8, 2008) - In response to investor requests, KA Fund Advisors, LLC ("Kayne Anderson") announced today that it will hold a conference call for investors and analysts to discuss its perspective on the energy master limited partnership (MLP) market on August 21, 2008 at 11 a.m. Eastern time. The call will be hosted by David LaBonte, Head of Energy Research, and J.C. Frey, Portfolio Manager. Kayne Anderson manages three publicly-traded funds: Kayne Anderson MLP Investment Company (NYSE: KYN), Kayne Anderson Energy Total Return Fund, Inc. (NYSE: KYE) and Kayne Anderson Energy Development Company (NYSE: KED).
The live webcast will be available online at Kayne Anderson's website at http://www.kaynefunds.com/webcasts.htm. Please go to the website at least 10 minutes before the event begins to register and to download a copy of the presentation materials. Those interested in participating in the question and answer session of the conference call should dial (866) 356-4123 for callers in the U.S. or (617) 597-5393 for callers outside the U.S. The passcode is 63596878. Following the call, an online replay will be available on Kayne Anderson's website; 8/21/2008 12:41 PM
Anonymous said...: Report: One trader held 11 pct of Nymex contracts
Thursday August 21, 12:15 pm ET
Report: Speculators may have played larger role in oil market swings that once thought

NEW YORK (AP) -- A single energy conglomerate held 11 percent of all contracts on the New York Mercantile Exchange at one point last month, according to a published report Thursday, suggesting that speculators may have played a larger part in volatile oil markets than once thought.
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The Commodity Futures Trading Commission made an unusual request last month for data from Vitol Group, a private Swiss energy company that regulators thought was helping industrial firms get the oil they needed, according to The Washington Post.

The commission discovered, however, that the Vitol would be better described as a speculator, trading oil contracts to turn profits rather than assisting companies that actually needed oil delivered for their operations.

The report comes one month after the Interagency Task Force on Commodity Markets, chaired by the commission, released an interim report saying record oil prices were the result of "fundamental supply and demand factors."

"It is now evident that speculators in the energy futures markets play a much larger role than previously thought, and it is now even harder to accept the agency's laughable assertion that excessive speculation has not contributed to rising energy prices," said Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich.

Dingell told the Post it was "difficult to comprehend how the CFTC would allow a trader" to acquire such a large oil inventory "and not scrutinize this position any sooner."

A number of lawmakers have blamed speculators for the spike in oil prices and last week, four Democratic senators asked for an investigation into the commission's report, which they said was based on flawed information.

The commission never named Vitol. The Wall Street Journal identified the company in a report Wednesday which cited unidentified people familiar with the matter. The Post cited two anonymous sources that it said had direct knowledge of the commission's request in their report.

The commission investigation showed Vitol was one of the most active traders of oil on Nymex as prices reached record levels.

By June 6, Vitol had amassed contracts equal to 57.7 million barrels of oil, about three times the amount the United States consumes daily. On that day, the price for a barrel of oil spiked $11 to settle at $138.54, per barrel, valuing Vitol's oil holding at nearly $8 billion.

Commission documents do not show how much Vitol had put down to acquire that many contracts. Nymex allows traders to acquire contracts by putting up margins, which can amount to a fraction of the actual worth.

So-called "swap dealers" operate in oil markets by investing on behalf of hedge funds and wealthy individuals who have no plans to take delivery, or buy an actual contract for oil.

The commission's data show that at the end of July, just four swap dealers held one-third of all Nymex oil contracts that bet prices would increase.

Last month, the commission reclassified a huge oil trader as a noncommercial speculator. Industry analysts immediately began to rethink what might be moving oil prices.

Commodities traders rely on weekly reports from the commission that classifies market players as commercial or speculative, without releasing names.

Those reports are coming under increased scrutiny as traders begin to question the transparency of the market.

It is difficult to classify market players, however, because some banks and hedge funds actually own infrastructure, such as storage tanks and pipelines and power plants. Like airlines and other businesses that try to protect themselves from crude price swings, they too may be hedging .

Vitol spokeswoman Victoria Dix declined comment to the Post. Vitol said in a statement that it had not been contacted by the commission about its classification.

The commission continues to pour over a massive amount of data submitted by large traders and it is asking for additional information.; 8/21/2008 1:00 PM