Amidst

Somewhat improbably, the cash market built upon Friday’s modest gains, which came amidst mixed price moves, with a fairly strong advance across the board Monday. The return of industrial load from its weekend dip was a minor bullish factor, but otherwise reasons for Monday’s upticks were difficult to discern.

Natural gas futures pushed higher on Wednesday amidst forecasts for colder temperatures and expectations that the United States might have recorded its first storage gas withdrawal of the winter heating season last week.

April natural gas futures plunged at the close of trading Friday amidst a flurry of spread trades that sent out bearish vibrations and cast doubt about further gains in the April contract. April futures lost 6.3 cents to close at $3.932, and May dropped 4.9 cents to close at $4.006. April crude oil shed 78 cents to close at $46.25/bbl.

Amidst lawsuits, a competing bid and some angry shareholders, the Constellation Energy Group and MidAmerican Energy Holdings merger continues to move forward, according to the companies. MidAmerican said last Friday it has completed its 14-day due diligence of Constellation’s retail and wholesale businesses, including trading records. Meanwhile, Constellation Energy Partners LLC earlier in the week put itself on the “for sale” block.

Amidst lawsuits, a competing bid and some angry shareholders, the Constellation Energy Group and MidAmerican Energy Holdings merger continues to move forward, according to the companies. MidAmerican said Friday it has completed its 14-day due diligence of Constellation’s retail and wholesale businesses, including trading records.

Amidst the malaise of a two-month-old budget impasse as the California legislature ended its regular session during the Labor Day weekend, a bill was passed under the radar allowing the City of Long Beach and the state to renegotiate a deal with locally based Occidental Petroleum Corp. (Oxy) to redrill the 76-year-old Wilmington oilfield near the Port of Long Beach. The bill needs the governor’s action by the end of September.

Amidst the malaise of a two-month-old budget impasse as the California legislature ended its regular session during the Labor Day weekend, a bill was passed under the radar allowing the City of Long Beach and the state to renegotiate a deal with locally based Occidental Petroleum Corp. (Oxy) to redrill the 76-year-old Wilmington oilfield near the Port of Long Beach.

Meeting the challenge of the “cultural issues” involved in business development amidst expanding population and environmental concerns, Canadian producers are underwriting a neutral dispute resolution agency, Synergy Alberta, and have hired an executive from the Canadian Red Cross to head it up.

Amidst the maelstrom that is California’s electricity marketthis summer, the nation’s largest municipal utility sits calm, cooland collected, making a small killing on the wholesale market andseemingly immune from power shortages for its 1.3 million customerswho make up the city of Los Angeles.