Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.
What: Shares of Western Refining
So what: While the disaster in Japan is bad news for almost everyone involved, it could be good news for refiners. Nearly 1 million barrels per day of refining capacity were shut down as a result of the earthquake and tsunami, and it was reported that a Cosmo Oil refinery had caught fire. In addition, there are concerns that the catastrophe could affect Japan's demand for oil, which could bring down global oil prices and benefit refiners as they purchase oil to turn into higher-value products. The latter would be a relief as refiners had been facing a recent sharp spike in prices due to the unrest in the Middle East and North Africa.
Now what: Western Refining wasn't the only refiner that caught a tailwind from the day's events as Valero
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