Shocking

Shocking details surrounding the surprise bankruptcy of securities firm giant MF Global Holdings Ltd. were coming to light Tuesday, one day after the company turned in its Chapter 11 papers following an ill-timed bet on the European debt markets (see Daily GPI, Nov. 1).

As Washington still was grappling with the shocking disclosure of illegal and inappropriate activities at the Interior Department’s Minerals Management Service (MMS), a former agency deputy associate last Monday pleaded guilty to a felony violation of the restrictions on post-government employment that involved the illegal awarding of a contract to a company of a retired agency colleague (see NGI, Sept. 15).

Shocking the natural gas industry on Thursday, the Energy Information Administration reported that a bearish 89 Bcf was injected into underground storage for the week ended Sept. 9. While October natural gas futures fell lower on the number, an afternoon rally off of support levels helped the contract settle 17 cents higher on the day at $11.336.

After climbing by $1.018 in Wednesday’s market-shocking regular session, January natural gas futures aimed to take some of that excess back in trading on Monday.

After climbing by $1.018 in Wednesday’s market-shocking regular session, January natural gas futures aimed to take some of that excess back in trading on Monday.

Promising continued legal actions and citing a “shocking disregard for public welfare,” California Attorney General Bill Lockyer last week filed a civil lawsuit in an East San Francisco Bay state Superior Court against Houston-based Enron Corp., alleging unfair business practices and violations of the state’s commodity law. The state court filing came three days after his office asked FERC to reconsider a refund order directed at the state last month.

Promising continued legal actions and citing a “shocking disregard for public welfare,” California Attorney General Bill Lockyer Thursday filed a civil lawsuit in an East San Francisco Bay state Superior Court against Houston-based Enron Corp., alleging unfair business practices and violations of the state’s commodity law. In a move to get around Enron’s bankruptcy protections, Lockyer said he hopes to have a jury trial under way in a California court before the end of this year.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission demonstrated “a shocking absence of regulatory vigilance,” and failed to restructure itself to oversee a competitive market, according to a memorandum produced by Democratic Sen. Joe Lieberman’s (CT) Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs. The report attempts to place at least part of the blame for the Enron debacle at FERC’s door.

The rush to build new gas-fired generation has become nothingless than a frenzy, according to a new report which shows thatsince summer the tally on new generation projects has grown 61% to59,000 MW. That’s up from 49,463 MW reported in late-September, and36,600 MW in July, said Resource Data International’s (RDI) EnergyInsight (EI), an Internet-based analytical service that keeps aclose watch on the power generation market.