Koch Supply & Trading slashes Staff in Restructuring
Global commodity trader Koch Supply & Trading has cut dozens of workers across at least four offices worldwide, several sources said on Tuesday, as the firm restructures its business. The cuts at the unit of Koch Industries Inc, the industrial conglomerate of billionaire conservatives Charles and David Koch, affected traders and support staff in its United States…
Buffett Bets Big on Energy with $9 Bln Oncor Buy
Warren Buffett's move to spend $9 billion on his largest energy sector acquisition reflects his long-standing drive to diversify his Berkshire Hathaway Inc and deepens his commitment to electricity as a means to boost profit. Berkshire said on Friday that its Berkshire Hathaway Energy unit will buy a reorganized Energy Future Holdings Corp to get access to Oncor Electric Delivery Co…
TrailStone buys Cargill's power, gas group
Commodities trader and investor TrailStone Group has purchased Cargill Inc's gas and power trading group, three sources familiar with the deal said this week. The move, first reported by Sparkspread, comes amid a reshuffling in the power and natural gas industry as private equity firms and hedge funds pour into the space, filling a void left by banks and other longtime players.
Morgan Stanley Focuses on Smaller, Smarter Trades
Nancy King, global head of commodities trading at Morgan Stanley, has spent the last few years remodeling what used to be one of the most profitable units on Wall Street, by downsizing and focusing on smaller, smart trades for customers instead of the big, risky bets it used to make on its own account. The shift in strategy, which…
Federal Reserve Proposes New Limits on Wall Street Energy Bets
The Federal Reserve on Friday outlined a plan to limit Wall Street bets on the energy sector by forcing enterprises like Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley to hold more capital against such investments. Under current law, Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Morgan Stanley may invest in energy storage and transportation in ways that other banks can not but the Friday plan would make such bets more costly.
Former PetroTiger CEO Pleads Guilty in Bribe Case
A former co-chief executive of oil services company PetroTiger Ltd pleaded guilty in a U.S. court on Monday to conspiring to bribe a Colombia government official to get help in winning a contract. In exchange for the plea from Joseph Sigelman, 43, the U.S. Department of Justice dropped several other charges, including money laundering and violating the federal Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA)…
Prison Labor Keeps Solar Manufacturing at Home
One of the largest companies to manufacture solar panels in the United States uses a surprising resource to keep costs low and compete against producers from China: prison labor. Suniva Inc, a Georgia-based solar cell and panel maker that is backed by Goldman Sachs Group Inc, farms out a small portion of its manufacturing to federal…
Citigroup to Set Aside $100 bln to Fund Green Initiatives
Citigroup Inc said it would set aside $100 billion to fund environmental projects over the next decade, doubling the amount it had earmarked for such projects in 2007. Citigroup said it would fund projects related to renewable energy, greenhouse gas reductions and sustainable transportation. The third-largest U.S. bank said it had met its previous investment target three years ahead of schedule in 2013.
Oil Refiner Bound to Goldman, Deutsche Fee Agreements - NY Judge
CVR Energy Inc is bound by agreements to pay Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Deutsche Bank AG more than $36 million in fees and expenses stemming from billionaire investor Carl Icahn's 2012 tender offer for the oil refiner, a New York state judge has ruled. The banks had each sued CVR in 2012, claiming CVR had hired them to provide financial advice on Icahn's ultimately successful tender offer for its stock…
Glencore Seeks to Exit Aluminum Price-Fixing Case
Glencore Plc has asked a U.S. judge to dismiss it as a defendant from nationwide antitrust litigation over the alleged manipulation of aluminum prices. In a Monday night filing with the U.S. District Court in Manhattan, Glencore said it lacks minimal contacts with New York, Michigan and California, where the alleged violations took place, and does not even conduct any business in those states.
Obama Announces Actions On Renewable Energy
President Barack Obama announced steps on Friday to increase the use of solar panels, boost energy efficiency in federal buildings and train more people to work in the renewable energy field. "It's the right thing to do for the planet," Obama said, standing in the outdoor lighting display section of a WalMart store that features roof-top solar panels and a charging station for electric vehicles…
Obama: Renewable Energy Boosted by Industry
President Barack Obama on Friday will announce executive orders to increase the use of solar panels, boost energy efficiency in federal buildings and train more people to work in the renewable energy field, the White House said. The president, who will make the announcement during a visit to Wal-Mart in Mountain View, California…
Energy Future, Creditors Square off in Bankruptcy Hearing
Hearings kicked off one of the biggest-ever U.S. bankruptcies on Thursday with creditors of Energy Future Holdings Corp, the largest power company in Texas, airing grievances over timing, value and how to administer the case. Energy Future, created in the 2007 buyout of TXU Corp, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Tuesday after struggling more than a year to work out a deal with its creditors.
Texas-based Energy Future Files for Bankruptcy
Energy Future Holdings, a Texas power company, filed for bankruptcy protection on Tuesday, seven years after its record leveraged buyout stacked it with debt just as prices for its electricity plunged. The former TXU Corp owes tens of billions of dollars to hedge funds and investment firms, and the Chapter 11 filing is among the largest ever.
Energy Future Restructuring Talks Progressing, but Slowly
Efforts to restructure Energy Future Holdings are progressing, albeit slowly, as the embattled Texas utility moves toward an expected bankruptcy filing, people close to the talks say. Discussions among disparate sets of stakeholders are advancing but have not yet broadened to the point that all key stakeholders are in the same room, said the people, who declined to be named because talks are private.
