By Andrew Mickey
John Maynard Keynes is one of the most influential and controversial economists in history.
He warned of the huge burden war reparations placed on Germany and its allies after WW I. He played an integral role in establishing the post-WW II financial world. His economic theories established the impetus for governments to spend like mad during downturns. He made, lost, and made back a massive fortune in the stock market. He counted Pablo Picasso and Virginia Wolf as friends.
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He’s done a lot. His impact on the world is extensive. But today we’ll look at one of his truly lasting legacies. And the invaluable lesson it teaches us about investing. It’s something so many investors fail to ever learn.
You see, Keynes was prone to change his mind. He was often openly accused of being inconsistent. Had he ever ran for political office, he surely would have been called a “flip-flopper.”
One day he was approached about his repeated inconsistencies. His simple response was, “When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do, sir?”
The Facts are Changing
It’s a bit of simple wisdom most investors so often forget. An investor who refuses to change when the facts change will lose out big. Just think of anyone you know who rode oil stocks all the way down to current levels. The were citing peak oil theory or the $60 per barrel cost of production of the 85th millionth barrel per day all the way down. Or agriculture sector stocks. Or shares in pretty much any sector - now that I think about it.
When the facts change, you’ve got to change with them.
Right now, the facts are changing – fast.
Now, at the Prosperity Dispatch, we’ve been pretty much spot on when it comes to oil over the past few months. With the exception of OPEC managing to stick together (which will last over the short-term, but has never held out over long periods of low oil prices) we’ve watched from the sidelines as oil prices plummeted and oil stocks got crushed.
We’ve focused on both the supply and demand side of the equation. Which, when taken in tandem, still paints a pretty ugly picture for oil over the short-term. The state of the U.S. economy and mounting problems in emerging markets, isn’t going to spark a quick rebound in oil demand. And swelling oil supplies sitting round in tankers will be there to be sold into any rally in oil prices.
Those are were the facts.
Change Oil Execs Don’t Want to Believe In
President Obama’s budget proposal is changing everything. We’ve already been over some of the changes coming to the healthcare sector and the impact on stocks in the sector (medical insurer Humana (NYSE:HUM) is down 30% since the healthcare system changes were announced).
Now “Change we can believe in” is heading for the energy industry.
The budget proposal Obama submitted reveals a lot about who the winners and losers will be. One of the big losers will be oil companies. According to the Houston Chronicle, “President Obama proposed a $31.5 billion tax increase on oil and gas producers.” Clearly, he has his sights aimed squarely at the “wealthy” (which still isn’t a crime – yet!) oil industry.
It’s not an upfront tax though. That would be too simple and may sound unfair. Even the most ardent tree hugger might consider forcing the oil industry to pay higher tax rates as excessive. That’s why it’s all in the form of increased fees and accounting rules changes.
Included among the proposals to squeeze $30 billion out of the oil industry are:
Establishing a new excise tax on Gulf of Mexico resources
Creating new fees for permitting process of development projects on federal land
Eliminating tax deductions for repair, site prep, and transportation costs of drilling
There are five or six more which will have a significant impact on the domestic oil industry. These changes will each have price tags of a few hundred million dollars for oil companies. When added all up, the eventual cost is around $30 billion.
The impact of them will be much greater than that though. They will help make some oil projects less economical. They’ll reduce oil companies’ available cash to invest. They’re going to slow down an oil industry which has already ground to a halt.
Now, I’m not about to set up some sob story for the oil companies. They’re coming off record years for profitability and cash flows. And most of them have piles of cash built up. The important thing here is we’re starting to see how alternative energy is going to become economical once again.
How to Make Alternative Energy “Work”
As long-time readers of the Prosperity Dispatch know, I’m not a very big fan of alternative energy. Most of the technologies have a lot of room for improvement. The oil bust has only slowed the rate of advancement. And to top it all off, I don’t see how $8 billion in direct government aid and tax breaks for alternative energy will be enough to get the industry back on its feet.
The free market is needed to get the alternative energy ball rolling again and the administration knows it. For better or worse, they’re making the changes necessary to tip the scales in favor of alternative energy once again (read: drive oil and energy prices higher).
It looks like that’s the plan. We’ll tax oil companies so they make less money and marginal oil projects become less economical. We’ll increase fees and royalties to reduce the upside for exploration and development. Then we’ll add a “cap and trade” carbon emissions program to add an extra cost to all fossil fuel energy producers.
As a result, oil companies will produce less oil and search less for new sources of oil. There will be very little investment in new or upgraded power plants. Higher oil and energy prices will inevitably follow. Alternative energy will be viable once again.
It’s genius!
But wait, won’t an electorate be frustrated when energy costs soar? Heads in Washington will certainly roll when gasoline is $4 at the pump and monthly electric bills are two or three times higher, right?
Well, not exactly.
