Agencies

The two major credit ratings agencies Friday placed the debt ratings of Kerr-McGee Corp., under review for possible downgrade following the announcement that financier Carl Icahn has filed to purchase up to $1 billion of the company’s stock, is jockeying for a seat on the board of directors and wants the company to make some major strategic changes.

The two major credit ratings agencies Friday placed the debt ratings of Kerr-McGee Corp., under review for possible downgrade following the announcement that financier Carl Icahn has filed to purchase up to $1 billion of the company’s stock, is jockeying for a seat on the board of directors and wants the company to make some major strategic changes (see Daily GPI, March 4).

The nation’s top three energy-related agencies, the departments of Energy, Interior and Transportation, shared in the general cutback for domestic spending in President Bush’s $2.57 trillion budget proposal for fiscal year 2006, which featured increased funding for the military and for international programs.

Three federal government agencies, including FERC, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and now the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), are investigating alleged “wash trading” by Entergy Corp., Entergy-Koch, LP or Entergy-Koch Trading, LP in 2001 and 2002.

California’s coalition of state government agencies and private-sector utilities late Friday asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to reconsider its March 26 ruling on future wholesale power refunds to consider all of the additional evidence the state coalition provided early in March. The move came three days after FERC granted a rehearing on the narrower issue of the natural gas pricing formula used in the refund case.

Following the motto that “if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again” (and again) California’s coalition of state government agencies and private sector utilities late Friday asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to reconsider its March 26 ruling on future wholesale power refunds to consider all of the additional evidence the state coalition provided early in March.

Three federal government agencies, including FERC, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and now the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), are investigating alleged “wash trading” by Entergy Corp., Entergy-Koch, LP or Entergy-Koch Trading, LP in 2001 and 2002.

Energy companies have taken a beating by credit rating agencies, and finally one, Questar Corp., is fighting back. The company, whose credit remains investment grade but was downgraded by Moody’s Tuesday to A2 for Questar Pipeline and Questar Gas and Baa3 for Questar Market Resources, has done nothing to warrant a downgrade, according to CEO Keith O. Rattie.

Energy companies have taken a beating by credit rating agencies, and finally one, Questar Corp., is fighting back. The company, whose credit remains investment grade but was downgraded by Moody’s Tuesday to A2 for Questar Pipeline and Questar Gas and Baa3 for Questar Market Resources, has done nothing to warrant a downgrade, according to CEO Keith O. Rattie.