Title: California Probe...
Found that DYN,WMB,AEP, and others, conspired to hold electric power off the market in order to artifically raise prices. Many of them did this at times when demand was at the highest level, and widespread brown outs were the result. Of course, this cost the state tens of millions in lost tax revenue, and plants were shut down with people put out of work as well. This finding by the state of California was unexpected, and the liability incurred by many of these companys could be huge. In fact legal eagles may soon come out of the woodwork, to swoop down upon these already dieing carcases. Chevron has been silent for far too long, and $1.40-$1.50 support is critical for DYN. DYN's reputation was already questionable, before the findings in the California case, so it looks very bad for them now in light of their potential criminal liability in the California power collusion cases. So, in light of this very negative news out of California, I'm changing my opinion to SELL/AVOID. Impossible to foresee news this negative before it happens... My thinking was DYN had already settled the issue about the California power crises by paying a fine to the FERC, but that may not shield them from being sued directly by the State of California for damages. It would seem that quite a few shareholders have already come to the same conclusion that I have expressed here, so the volume on today's sell off is also a concern. WMB and AEP also have negative outlooks for the same reasons that DYN does. Any lawyers out there that can shed some light on this question of liability to the State of California despite a fine paid to the FERC? Did the fine paid to the FERC preclude California from being able to sue? |
