U.S. first-time unemployment claims fall to lowest level in nearly a year
The number of people who applied for unemployment benefits...
The number of people who applied for unemployment benefits in the first week of the new year fell to an 11-month low, the latest sign layoffs remain extremely low even as businesses cut back on hiring.
New jobless claims, a proxy for layoffs, fell by 10,000 to 201,000 in seven days ended Jan. 4, the government said. The report was moved up a day because of former President Jimmy Carter’s funeral on Thursday.
The labor market is in an odd state — most companies are hesitant to hire but very few are laying off workers. It’s what one economist calls the “no hire/no fire” economy.
Right now businesses are waiting to see how President-Elect Donald Trump’s economic policies pan out before they decide their next step.
Snowy weather is headed to West Texas, but how much and when are proving...
Snowy weather is headed to West Texas, but how much and when are proving hard to predict.
“There’s a system coming out of Mexico; however, unfortunately, we don’t have good observations in Mexico, so there’s still uncertainty about what precipitation will look like this week,” said Brian Curan, meteorologist at the National Weather Service [NWS] office in Midland.
Curan said he expects about 1 inch of precipitation to fall between Wednesday and Friday, and some of that could be a wintry mix of snow and sleet. There’s a 10% chance of snow showers Wednesday afternoon and a 20% chance in the evening. Snow chances rise to 40% Thursday during the day. At night, a mix of rain and snow could fall before midnight.
NWS has placed the Permian Basin under a cold weather advisory, which will expire at 6 a.m. Friday.
US Energy Corp. Closes Divestiture of East Texas Assets
U.S. Energy Corp. has closed a sale of East Texas assets, which gained...
U.S. Energy Corp. has closed a sale of East Texas assets, which gained cash proceeds of about $6.82 million to be directed to the company’s industrial gas project in Montana. The buyer of the assets wasn’t named.
U.S. Energy said the divested assets averaged 1 MMcf/d of natural gas and 149 bbl/d of oil for the quarter ending Sept. 30.
Kimbell Royalty Partners Adds to Permian Portfolio with $231MM Deal
Kimbell Royalty Partners will acquire oil and natural gas mineral and...
Kimbell Royalty Partners will acquire oil and natural gas mineral and royalty interests in the Midland Basin in a cash-and-equity deal valued at $231 million, the company said Jan. 7.
Kimbell will pay $207 million in cash and 1.4 million common units valued at $24 million for interests held by Boren Minerals.
The interests are located in the Mabee Ranch and concentrated in Martin and Andrews counties, Texas. They hold more than 875 gross producing wells across 68,000 gross acres. Operators on the acreage include ConocoPhillips, Diamondback Energy and Exxon Mobil Corp.
Fierce Winds Whip Up Devastating Wildfires in Southern California
Terrifying scenes...
Terrifying scenes played out across Southern California early Wednesday as fierce winds of nearly 100 miles per hour propelled multiple wildfires that laid waste to homes and businesses, covered cities and highways in smoke, whipped up storms of embers and turned the skies red.
Officials have tallied devastating losses but warned that the worst was still to come, with wild winds expected to fuel the out-of-control blazes and hinder firefighting efforts well into Wednesday.
