The trial of Enron Corp. founder Kenneth Lay and former CEO Jeffrey Skilling is only three weeks old, but Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Sim Lake attempted to speed things along. Defense attorneys last week played nearly eight hours of video and audio recordings of Enron webcasts and analysts conference calls in an attempt to show the jury “context.” However, when another tape was introduced as evidence Wednesday, Lake appeared to have heard enough.
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Dynegy Cuts ’04 Forecast by 76%, Projects Net Loss in ’05
Dynegy Inc.’s management team last week attempted to convince investors that it was focused on future performance, but the news was overshadowed by a 76% reduction in 2004 earnings’ estimates and a projected net loss in 2005.
Another Week, Another Class Action Lawsuit in California’s Energy Sector
In another case inspired by the added information flowing from ongoing federal and state investigations, Reliant Energy and others were targeted last week in a Los Angeles law firm’s class action lawsuit , alleging a “massive conspiracy” to manipulate wholesale natural gas prices through bankrupt Enron Corp.’s now-defunct online energy trading operation.
Enron’s Lay Says Rumors ‘Doing A Lot of Damage to Us’
With embattled CFO Andrew Fastow and other corporate executives joining him, Chairman Kenneth Lay attempted to answer yet again the growing list of questions that are swirling around Enron Corp.’s third quarter announcement of equity reductions and related-party transactions. However, it seemed in the end that listeners were still hungry for more information on the Houston-based company’s balance sheet, as well as its plans to stop the slide in stock prices.
CA Asks FERC for More Power Refunds
California’s Attorney General last Wednesday attempted to open another chapter in the state’s wide-ranging attempts to secure billions of dollars of refunds for the wholesale power it and the state’s major utilities purchased in 2000-2001, filing a new request with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for refunding alleged overcharges paid by San Diego consumers. An ongoing FERC refund investigation covering the entire western power markets does not cover the summer period in question because of what the federal agency claims are legal restrictions preventing it from doing so.
Despite Attempted Roadblock, FirstEnergy-GPU Merger a Done Deal
Dismissing an eleventh-hour attempt by a regional utility watchdog organization to hold up its pending merger, Akron, OH-based FirstEnergy Corp. reported last week that it has closed its merger with Morristown, NJ-based GPU Inc. The companies announced that the effective date of the merger was Nov. 7.
Gas-Rich Independents More Attractive to Buyers
Analysts covering the attempted takeover of Barrett Resources byRoyal Dutch Shell Group said last week they expect to seeadditional consolidation of U.S. independents with a heavy gasportfolio, especially now that the majors and larger independentsare flush with cash from through-the-roof commodity pricing in thepast year.
Shippers Protest KMI’s Order 637 Tariff Changes
Kinder Morgan Interstate Gas Transmission (KMI) has attempted anend run around FERC’s Order 637, filing wide-ranging operationaland rate changes early under expedited tariff procedures to avoidthe more rigorous review in store for compliance filings, accordingto customer protests.
Futures Traders Jockey for Position Ahead of Floyd
For the second day in a row the futures market probed to eitherside of unchanged yesterday as local traders attempted to influencethe market-first higher, then lower-in choppy, range-bound trading.But for the second day in a row they received little or no helpfrom other market participants, and thus were forced to cover intheir positions before the close. That enabled the October contractto drift quietly lower Monday, closing down 2 cents to $2.781.Estimated volume of 74,785 was well below Friday’s impressive114,000 figure.
PacifiCorp Back to Basics Move Not Unique
The new chief executive at PacifiCorp decided the cure for thecompany’s sickly earnings is a strategy successfully attempted byother utility companies that found themselves in trouble: get backto basics.