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Politics : High Tolerance Plasticity -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: energyplay who wrote (11545)	1/8/2002 6:28:34 AM
From: Second_Titan	Respond to of 23153

Energyplay - Thanks for the words of caution on BEAS. I did well with PRGN until the recent tanking erased profits from some several trades. Decisions decisions, LT hold or trade? When I look at the reserves of Russia and those of our Islamic foes, and consider what low prices do to demand and supply, I suspect our ability to coerce the Islamists through oil will be of a very limited duration and effectiveness.

To: energyplay who wrote (11545)	1/9/2002 7:12:05 PM
From: stockman_scott	Respond to of 23153

Government to Investigate Enron Wednesday January 9 6:57 PM ET By KAREN GULLO, Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) - The Justice Department (news - web sites) has opened a criminal investigation into Enron Corp., whose employees lost billions when the company barred them from selling plummeting Enron shares from their retirement accounts. The department has formed a task force, headed by the criminal division and made up of federal prosecutors in Houston, San Francisco, New York and several other cities, said a Justice Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity. The Labor Department (news - web sites) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (news - web sites) are conducting civil investigations. Enron officials at Enron refused to comment on the report, deferring to attorney Bob Bennett. He did not immediately return a call. Enron, which was formed in 1985 and has 20,000 employees, was once the world's top buyer and seller of natural gas and the largest electricity marketer in the United States. It also marketed coal, pulp, paper, plastics, metals and fiber-optic bandwidth. One likely focus of the Justice Department investigation: Possible fraud based on Enron's heavy reliance on off-balance-sheet partnerships which took on Enron debt. The partnerships masked Enron's financial problems and left its credit ratings healthy so it could obtain the cash and credit crucial to running its trading business. The Houston-based company went bankrupt after its credit collapsed and its main rival, Dynegy Inc., backed out of an $8.4 billion buyout plan late last year. Just a year ago, stock of the nation's largest buyer and seller of natural gas traded at $85 per share. Today, it is less than $1. The news of the criminal investigation comes amid questions about the White House's dealings with Enron, which contributed to President Bush (news - web sites)'s election campaign. The White House has acknowledged that Enron representatives met six times with Vice President Dick Cheney (news - web sites) or his aides on energy issues last year, most recently in mid-October just before the investing public realized the company was heading for disaster. The vice president's office said the last Enron meeting with a Cheney aide was Oct. 10, just six days before the first in a series of public admissions by the company about its true financial condition that sent it careening into bankruptcy court. Enron's financial position wasn't discussed in any of the meetings, vice presidential counsel David Addington insisted in a letter. On Wednesday, White House spokesman Ari Fleischer (news - web sites) told reporters: ``I'm not aware of anybody in the White House who discussed Enron's financial situation.''

To: energyplay who wrote (11545)	2/23/2002 11:07:30 AM
From: stockman_scott	Respond to of 23153

Bush Says U.S. Needs to Drill for Oil in Alaska Feb 23 2002 10:23AM WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Facing tough odds in the U.S. Senate, President Bush on Saturday launched a new campaign to gain approval for oil drilling in a pristine Alaskan wildlife refuge, saying it would create jobs and help wean America from foreign oil. "America is already using more energy than our domestic resources can provide, and unless we act to increase our energy independence, our reliance on foreign sources of energy will only increase," Bush said in his weekly radio address. The Senate in the coming week is to resume debate on energy legislation and at the moment it does not contain language to allow drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), believed to hold up to 16 billion barrels of crude. Republicans wants to amend the legislation to include ANWR drilling. The House included drilling in the refuge in its energy bill last August. A final Senate vote is not expected until March, and Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, a South Dakota Democrat, has said he has enough votes to block Republicans from adding language that would allow drilling in the Alaskan refuge. Bush said he stopped in Alaska a week ago on his way to Asia and met with many Alaskans, including "native leaders who want to preserve the grandeur of their state while carefully developing the energy beneath a small fraction of it." "New technology makes this possible. Our national security makes it urgent. Alaskans know firsthand that modern technology allows us to bring oil to the surface cleanly and safely, while protecting our environment and wildlife," Bush said. "We should listen to Alaskans who support exploring ANWR in a safe and clean way." The Arctic refuge stretches over 19.6 million acres and is home to caribou, polar bears and other wildlife. Democrats and environmental groups oppose drilling in the refuge, preferring an energy policy that emphasizes more conservation and stricter fuel efficiency standards. Bush believes taking oil from the refuge would help reduce America's dependence on crude oil imported from volatile Middle Eastern nations. Republicans say Alaskan drilling will create tens of thousands of jobs, and backers say the refuge could produce 1 million barrels of oil a day at peak production. The United States uses 19.5 million barrels a day, and imports account for 60 percent of that. Interior Secretary Gale Norton has said it is too early to say whether Bush would veto energy legislation that does not include ANWR drilling. Bush on Monday will underscore his support for conservation when he takes a look at three experimental energy-saving vehicles, including the Chrysler Town & Country Natrium minivan, which is fueled with sodium boro-hydride, a compound chemically related to borax, the naturally occurring substance used in laundry soap. The White House insists Bush's commitment to conservation, including tax credits for purchases of hybrid vehicles, has been overshadowed by the flap over ANWR. "Conservation technology and renewables are important. Yet they alone cannot solve our energy problems. We must also reduce America's dependence on foreign sources of oil by encouraging safe and clean exploration at home," Bush said. Copyright © 2002 Reuters Limited