Nasty

The rumblings of a nasty gas market reversal can be heard loud and clear, said Lehman Brothers analyst Thomas Driscoll in a research note, predicting the current price collapse would continue into the summer.

The rumblings of a nasty gas market reversal can be heard loud and clear, said Lehman Brothers analyst Thomas Driscoll in a research note, predicting the current price collapse would continue into the summer.

It’s been difficult to keep up with the charges and countercharges by the two groups vying to run El Paso Corp. However, as the march toward a June 17 annual meeting in Houston nears, the proxy battle for the board of directors most likely will rest on which group the shareholders find most credible: the current members, who have attempted to remake the company following a blistering two-year stretch, or the proposed board, composed of a group of energy professionals that claims it can do better.

Following weeks of nasty accusations by both sides in a high profile hostile takeover attempt, Canadian Superior Energy Inc. has quietly withdrawn its bid for Calgary crosstown rival Canadian 88 Energy Corp., citing Canadian 88’s “erosion” of shareholder value relative to its own. Canadian Superior also cited Canadian 88’s refusal to provide requested information in its takeover attempt.

California’s energy crisis has become more of an energy war, with public comments from all sides taking on distinctly adversarial tones. Gov. Gray Davis’ current strategy is to go after merchant generators in the news media and legislative forums. At the same time the governor has become the Democratic Party point person, attacking the Bush Administration on its energy policy as it relates to the western states and sky-high wholesale natural gas and electricity prices.

Despite very nasty winter weather setting in or approaching inmany regions Friday, weekend prices were softer everywhere exceptat most West Coast points. Most declines ranged from about a dimeto 20 cents, but the PG&E citygate and Pacific Northwestregistered moderate advances and the Southern California border sawa whopping advance of almost $2.