Shares of coal producers fell widely Thursday, led by St. Louis-based Peabody Energy Corp.
Late Wednesday, Peabody Energy said lower third-quarter shipments will mean its 2006 production will be at the low end of its previous guidance.
In response, several analysts slashed their third-quarter earnings projections for Peabody Energy, including Morgan Stanley’s Mark Liinamaa. He cut his [...]

Greenpeace activists Friday dumped coal on the doorstep of Thailand’s Ministry of Energy in protest against energy policies that promote the burning of fossil fuels, such as coal, one of the primary causes of climate change.
Activists also unfurled a banner which reads “Ministry of Climate Change”, accusing the government of helping to intensify the impacts [...]

U.S. states’ plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions could lead to little change in national carbon output, simply pushing coal-fired power plants and other dirty industries to relocate in states without rules, experts said on Thursday.
California reached a deal Wednesday to cut emissions of gases scientists believe are causing climate change. The plan, which would [...]

Mayors from 17 Texas cities, citing poor air quality across the state, vowed on Thursday to fight construction of more than a dozen coal-fired power plants unless regulators consider all options that could lead to cleaner air.
The group, Texas Cities for Clean Air Coalition, which includes mayors from Houston and Dallas, said it planned to [...]

Russian Railways OJSC transported above 131 mln tons of oil products in January-July 2006, the Company reports.
In July, there were loaded 19 mln tons of oil products, which is 7% more than for July 2005.
Export transportations of oil and oil products from Russia to China totaled 5.5 mln tons, an increase of 20.6% y-o-y. It [...]

Progress Energy, Inc. (PGN) utility Progress Energy Florida asked state regulators Friday to approve an increase in its fuel surcharge to reflect rises in fuel costs and environmental compliance costs.
If the surcharge is approved, residential electric bills would rise by $161.4 million, or about 3.4% per 1,000 kilowatt-hours in 2007, the utility said.
“The same pressures [...]

TECO Energy Inc.’s (TE) Tampa Electric unit is seeking a rate increase and said its fuel and purchased power costs will be more than $100 million higher than its estimates a year ago.
Tampa Electric wants to to boost residential electricity rates in Florida by 4.5%, and commercial rates by 6%. The company is also seeking [...]

Suncor Energy Products Inc. will begin preliminary work for a planned maintenance shutdown at its Sarnia, Ont. refinery on Saturday.
The Suncor Energy Inc. (SU) unit said the preliminary work involves the shutdown and securing of portions of the facility in advance of the shutdown, which is scheduled to begin in stages beginning the following week. [...]

Chilean miners voted to end their 25-day-old strike for higher pay at La Escondida, the world’s largest copper mine, a top union official announced.
In a secret ballot that lasted more than six hours, the workers accepted the union leaders’ contract agreement with the executives of the mine, controlled by the Anglo-Australian mining giant BHP Billiton.
On [...]

Nickel prices rose more than 5 per cent on Thursday on low inventories and tight supplies on a day when copper prices also rose in spite of an expected settlement of the near month-long strike at the world’s largest copper mine in Chile.
The three-month nickel price rose to $28,750 a tonne on the London Metal [...]