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- BusinessOilprice.com•15 hours ago
Are Super Rigs The Driver Behind The New Shale Boom?
Cost cuts and efficiency—the two key ingredients of the U.S. shale’s recipe for surviving the worst of the downturn—have led to drillers now employing a growing number of rigs capable of reducing the time needed for drilling a well and for moving from one area to another. The U.S. shale patch has been increasingly using the so-called super-spec rigs, a more advanced type of drilling machine, since the shale resurgence began at the end of last year, helped—inadvertently—by OPEC’s production cut deal that pushed oil to a more stable, around-US$50, price. The market was particularly unimpressed with OPEC extending the output cuts into March next year, while U.S. shale continues to increase production by the week, having found ways to get more bang for the buck and be profitable at a US$50 oil price.
BusinessThe Street•22 hours ago22 Large Retailers Besides J.C. Penney Are Closing Waves of Stores
The Great Restructuring in retail continues. In the wake of a disappointing holiday season, J.C. Penney (JCP) said recently that it will close 138 stores stores by the end of the summer. The store closures represent 13% to 14% of the company's current store base and less than 5% of annual sales. They have a negligible impact on net income. J.C. Penney said same-store sales at the locations were "significantly below" the remaining store base and operate at a much higher expense rate due to poor productivity. The company expects $200 million in annual costs savings from the efforts. "We believe closing stores will also allow us to adjust our business to effectively compete against the growing
- BusinessCNBC•21 hours ago
Married couples have 81 ways to claim Social Security. Here's how to maximize your benefits
Marriage can make life easier, but not when it comes to Social Security. A single person only has to consider nine different scenarios when claiming retirement benefits. For married couples, the available options for filing strategies grow to 81.
