Enough

Dynegy Inc.’s new-and-improved business plan is not enough cash-flow wise to fully offset the massive amount of debt leveraging that carried over from its former business strategy, according to an analyst with Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services (S&P). The ratings agency on Tuesday cut the company and its subsidiaries another notch, to “B” from “B+”.

Tropical Storm Isidore may not have gained the speed that Hurricane Lili is producing, but it was strong enough to blow a hole into BP plc’s production forecast for 2002. The company, which will still have to tally Lili’s consequences, blamed the September storm for a predicted year-end production growth of 4% over a year ago, which is 1% less than its forecast a month ago.

Tropical Storm Isidore may not have gained the speed that Hurricane Lili is producing, but it was strong enough to blow a hole into BP plc’s production forecast for 2002. The company, which will still have to tally Lili’s consequences, blamed the September storm for a predicted year-end production growth of 4% over a year ago, which is 1% less than its forecast a month ago.

Enron Corp.’s collapse created a tidal wave, stormy enough to cause a “sea change” in the industry, an energy consulting firm asserts in a new report. With the changes come the “traumatic” phases: first is shock, disbelief and denial, and the distancing by other companies. Soon after, the “wave of senior management head-rolling begins.” Then there is chaos — and that’s where the industry is now.

A 17% increase in production in the second quarter 2002 wasn’t enough to offset “vertically challenged” Rockies prices for Tom Brown Inc. (TBI), which reported net income of $4.8 million or $0.12 per diluted share as compared to $26.2 million or $0.65 per diluted share during the same period of the prior year.

A 17% increase in production in the second quarter 2002 wasn’t enough to offset “vertically challenged” Rockies prices for Tom Brown Inc. (TBI), which reported net income of $4.8 million or $0.12 per diluted share as compared to $26.2 million or $0.65 per diluted share during the same period of the prior year.

Although economic growth has resumed, the increase in corporate expenditures wasn’t great enough to stem the rising tide of credit-rating downgrades during the second quarter, said Moody’s Investors Service last week. In fact, it reported that credit-rating downgrades exceeded upgrades by a margin of 4.9-to-1 during the period, the highest ratio since the record 6.3-to-1 in the fourth quarter of 1990.

With much of the U.S. and Canada still frigid from last week and renewed cold having returned to the South and Northeast, there was no surprise when prices rose nearly across the board Monday. There was quite a bit of variation among the amounts of increase, however. The Midcontinent/Midwest, Rockies, California and a few Gulf Coast points measured their gains generally in the vicinity of a dime or slightly more. The rest of the Gulf Coast tended to rise by either side of 20 cents, while Northeast citygates were up 30-55 cents.

Last week’s siege of severe winter weather retained enough market influence Friday to have weekend prices in the Northeast ranging from flat to up as much as nearly 20 cents (Transco Zone 6-NYC), although most gains were less than a dime. Western points, where some moderation of the cold was already under way, tended to see mostly tiny declines of a couple of cents or so.