Links of the day - 10/21/08

Finance:
FBI struggles to handle Financial Fraud cases. 36% fewer case officers than 2001. Since then, we've had Enron, Worldcom, A.I.G., and a host of others.

Oil:
40% of Gulf of Mexico oil production STILL shut in due to Gustav and pals.

Second Bomb blast hits pipeline. Canadian terrorists? We all know how the last war with Canada went.

"Massive" find was bypassed by Exxon. In one of the deepest, most technically challenging drilling feats in industry history, Freeport, et. al. seem to have hit a big find. In July, this would have been all over the news. Now, hardly a peep. It could be the biggest domestic oil find (4 billion barrels?) in over a decade, but that's no guarantee it will ever see production. First off, even with the best technology, you need more than 1 appraisal well to judge the economics of a reservoir. This has already been one of most expensive holes ever dug by man. Drilling 2 more will be even more costly. Second, the oil might not flow right. Deep wells tend to have flowrate problems, which was one of the reasons that Jack #2's good flowrates was such a big deal a few years ago. Thirdly, the economics might not make sense at today's prices. I doubt the project will work with $50 a barrel oil. Probably not even $60 a barrel. All that being said, this appears to be one hell of a find.

Transportation:
Graphical depiction of GM/Chrysler Merger.

A modern day WPA will save the economy. From Wired. Strident call for infrastructure reconstruction from the next administration. High on the list should be a national, electrified rail system starting with this one in California. Oh yeah, and Cat 5 Levees for New Orleans.

Jalopnik DOTS: 1966 Chevy Pickup. Classic truck sitting on the street in the land that rust forgot. Probably a straight six and a three on the tree.

Politics:
Keith Olbermann's high school history teacher just passed away. Look at what found in 1991:


Early Obama voters meet with hecklers, slashed tires. Also, possible voting machine problems? We'll have to see.