Companies that were on a buying spree before 2001 are putting assets worth billions n the block

A casual observer might expect that the industry's economic condition would produce a cornucopia of cheap assets for acquisitive companies . Eventually it might, but so far, it generally has not.

DCF Utility Valuation: Still the Gold Standard?

 

 

It's Now or Never for Power Line Broadband

 

 

Measuring Up to Jensen

 

 

A top investor explains what it would take for utilities to be included in one of the best-performing funds in the U.S.

Passing the standards for inclusion in the $1 billion plus Jensen Portfolio Fund is like being crowned the best-of-the-best in a given industry, analysts say.

U.S. companies' international strategies turn sour, as Europe faces a future with an oligopoly of power companies.

While the European Union is pushing to give all industrial and commercial customers electric choice by 2004, giant incumbent European utilities are increasingly dominating power markets across Europe and the United Kingdom.

Trading is dead. At least that’s what some analysts are saying about the electricity markets. “Trading died with Enron on Dec. 2, 2001,” says Mark Williams, an energy risk management expert at Boston University. Whether trading is really dead or not, some signs of a rebirth are beginning to emerge.

Pension Plans May Slow Utility Growth in 2003

 

 

The economic downturn is increasing utility pension plan costs and liabilities.

While 401(k) stock option plans have increasingly displaced traditional pension plans in corporate America, many mature firms like electric utilities are still administering sizeable pension plans that in the recent economic downturn could compromise future earnings, according to a report by investment bank CIBC World Markets (CIBC).

The pros and cons of dividend pay-out reductions and stock repurchase programs in uncertain economic times.

The Dow Jones Utility Average currently stands at its lowest level in five years. Electric and gas utilities, along with U.S. companies generally, have been consistently lowering their payout ratios over the past several years, and that downward trend is projected to continue. What do these facts portend for utility investors in the near future?

S&P, Moody's, and Fitch tell why credit issues now rule the energy sector.

This year saw energy companies forced to make some grim choices-issuing new stock in falling markets, angering investors with dividend cutbacks, selling prized assets at fire sale prices. Some blame it on the rating agencies-the bond kings-who imposed tougher credit standards after the fall of Enron.