A lot of big names will report third quarter earnings this week, and the results are expected to be worse than the same period in 2018. The timing comes as the shale sector is facing somewhat of a reckoning. After years of price volatility – with more downs than ups – oil prices have failed to return even remotely close to pre-2014 levels. For several years, shale E&Ps took on debt and issued new equity, promising investors that they would profit both from a rebound in prices and from rapid production growth. They delivered on gains to output, but not on profits. At some point in the last year, investors really began to lose faith. Oil stocks have been the worst performers in the S&P 500 this year. The latest release of earnings will probably do little to quell unease from big investors. Oil and natural gas prices have […]