Investors

Since coined by Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan back in 1995 to explain investors’ love of stocks, “irrational exuberance” has come to typify the stock market and its unprecedented bull rally. But last week as stock prices plummeted again, the phrase was a more apt description of the natural gas futures market, which spiked 14% amid bullish technicals unpinned by concerns over a tightness of supply this summer and next winter.

Since coined by Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan back in1995 to explain investors love of stocks, “irrational exuberance,”has come to typify the stock market and its unprecedented bullrally. But yesterday as stock prices plummeted again, “irrationalexuberance” was a more apt description of the natural gas futuresmarket, which spiked sharply amid a frenzy of short-covering andnew long accumulation. When all the dust had settled and the orderstabulated in the data room at Nymex, the numbers were staggering— the June contract rose a whopping 24.1 cents to finish at$2.689, setting a new 30-month high at $3.73 during a session thatsaw 102,978 contracts change hands.

Canadians are being told — by American investors on the prowlfor pieces of the action — that the North American natural gasmarket is headed for a spell of very tight supplies and they standto be prime beneficiaries. The projection emerged as a consensus ata Calgary conference billed as the mightiest assembly of financialmuscle ever held in the Canadian gas capital.

Warm weather in its key market areas intensified a turbulentyear for Avista Corp., the company said last week, and its fourthquarter earnings will reflect it.

Despite warning investors last week that warm weather during the fourth quarter could negatively impact earnings by as much as 10 cents/share last week, CMS Energy has nonetheless deemed 1999 a success. Its earnings will be released in mid-January, a company spokesman said.

Despite warning investors that warm weather during the fourthquarter could negatively impact earnings by as much as 10cents/share, the CMS has nonetheless deemed 1999 a success. Itsearnings will be released in mid-January, a company spokesman said.

TransCanada CEO Doug Baldwin let investors know last week thatthis year is just the beginning of the cost-cutting and assetshuffling at the company. He predicted assets sales would reach $3billion (out of a total of $26 billion) by the end of 2001,including what already has been put on the block this year.

TransCanada CEO Doug Baldwin let investors know that this yearis just the beginning of the cost-cutting and asset shuffling atthe company. He said to expect $3 billion of the company’s $26billion in assets to be put on the auction block by the end of2001. That includes those assets that have been or will be soldthis year: Angus Chemical, which was bought by Dow Chemical in thethird quarter; the prior transfer of ownership in Northern Borderto TC Pipelines LP; and the company’s liquids marketing business,which is expected to be sold in the fourth quarter. He warned thereis still a lot of underperforming fat to be trimmed, and anotherso-far-unannounced collection of assets could go in the fourthquarter.

MCN Energy Group continued singing the blues to investors lastweek with an announcement that it canceled its Michigan E&Passet sale and took a huge financial loss during the secondquarter. But company officials promised to turn things around witha new executive leadership team and a narrower,vertically-integrated business strategy.