Devastating

Producers last Thursday called President Obama’s budget for fiscal year 2010 a “devastating blow,” saying it would raise taxes by more than an “astonishing” $30 billion over a 10-year period.

Producers Thursday called President Obama’s budget for fiscal year 2010 a “devastating blow,” saying it would raise taxes by more than an “astonishing” $30 billion over a 10-year period.

Constellation Energy, continuing to cut back operations after taking a devastating hit from Lehman Brothers Holdings’ failure last fall, said last Tuesday it had agreed to divest the majority of its London-based international commodities business, including its coal and freight operations and European energy trading units, to an affiliate of Goldman Sachs.

Constellation Energy, continuing to cut back operations after taking a devastating hit from Lehman Brothers Holdings’ failure last fall, agreed to divest the majority of its London-based international commodities business, including its coal and freight operations and European energy trading units, to an affiliate of Goldman Sachs, it said Tuesday.

After receiving a devastating blow from FERC earlier in the month with relation to its proposal to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Washington County, ME, Quoddy Bay LNG LLC told Maine regulators over the weekend it is withdrawing its request for state permits to build the project, but expects to refile them in the future.

Seven months after Amaranth was caught on the wrong side of the natural gas market with devastating effect, history has been repeated, although on a smaller scale, as the Bank of Montreal reported Friday that it has lost between C$350 million and C$450 million (US$313.70 million to US$403.33 million) in similar wrong-way trades in natural gas, specifically “out-of-the-money options.” The bank also warned investors that more related losses could be coming, but that they would be “substantially lower” than the losses announced Friday.

Seven months after Amaranth was caught on the wrong side of the natural gas market with devastating effect, history has been repeated, although on a smaller scale, as the Bank of Montreal reported Friday that it has lost between C$350 million and C$450 million (US$313.70 million to US$403.33 million) in similar wrong-way trades in natural gas, specifically “out-of-the-money options.” The bank also warned investors that more related losses could be coming, but that they would be “substantially lower” than the losses announced Friday.

Last year the United States experienced a temporary respite from the devastating hurricanes that swept through Florida and the Gulf Coast in 2005, but the trend toward violent storms is still in place. AccuWeather.com Hurricane Center Chief Forecaster Joe Bastardi warns that the U.S. Gulf Coast, which avoided the wrath of major storms and hurricanes in 2006, is at much higher risk of destructive tropical weather this year. And in the Atlantic, the Northeast also could suffer some hits.

Last year the United States experienced a temporary respite from the devastating hurricanes that swept through Florida and the Gulf Coast in 2005, but the trend toward violent storms is still in place. AccuWeather.com Hurricane Center Chief Forecaster Joe Bastardi warns that the U.S. Gulf Coast, which avoided the wrath of major storms and hurricanes in 2006, is at much higher risk of destructive tropical weather this year. And in the Atlantic, the Northeast also could suffer some hits.