Headed

The natural gas market is back on track and buyers and sellers are headed for GasMart 2004 to talk about the latest market issues, make new contacts and reestablish old ones in Denver May 17-19.

The natural gas market is back on track and buyers and sellers are headed for GasMart 2004 to talk about the latest market issues, make new contacts and reestablish old ones in Denver May 17-19.

Dan Gordon, 27, who once headed Merrill Lynch’s global energy markets group and then went on to run the unit when it was sold to Allegheny Energy last year, on Friday pleaded guilty to criminal charges of money laundering, wire fraud and conspiracy to falsify books and records.

Cash numbers that had been firming for nearly all of last week finally headed back down Friday despite the prospect of cool to freezing weekends almost everywhere. Instead, traders looked ahead to general warming trends early this week, some of them due to start before Monday, and behind to Thursday’s screen drop of nearly a quarter in sending prices lower.

Barring a surprise outbreak of increases in productivity, Canadian natural-gas exports to the United States are headed for a second straight year of decline.

With its merchant energy unit, National Energy Group, headed toward Chapter 11 proceedings, where its utility operations currently are stalled, PG&E Corp. Tuesday reported a first quarter net loss of $354 million, or 93 cents/share, compared to net income of $631 million, or $1.71/share, for the first quarter last year.

With its merchant energy unit, National Energy Group, headed toward Chapter 11 proceedings, where its utility operations currently are stalled, PG&E Corp. Tuesday reported a first quarter net loss of $354 million, or 93 cents/share, compared to net income of $631 million, or $1.71/share, for the first quarter last year.

Coming a little more than a week after the company headed off bankruptcy, Hagerstown, MD-based Allegheny Energy, Inc. announced that Alan J. Noia, chairman, president, and CEO, has informed the board of directors of his decision to retire. Noia has agreed to remain with the company until a successor is found. The company said it is in the process of enlisting a prominent executive search firm to head the search.

After weathering the extended cold chill over the second half of January, it appears that at least part of the country is not out of the woods yet as another cold front is bearing down in some areas of the East. The National Weather Service’s 8-14 day outlook as of Feb. 7 called for normal to below normal temperatures across the East and Midwest, while the Southwest is expected to register above normal temps.