Enron wahrscheinlich pleite - höchstgefährlich!

Credit rating agencies downgraded Enron's debt to junk status. Their action means Enron has to repay, refinance or put up additional cash backing for $3.9bn of debt. Enron shares, which traded at $90 at their peak last year, fell by nearly three quarters to just over $1.

"We do not believe it is likely that Enron will be able to raise the capital to settle these claims and continue to operate its business," said Andre Meade, an analyst with Commerzbank.

Steve Bergstrom, Dynegy's chief operating officer, said on Wednesday he believed other industry players had been able to prepare themselves for the potential withdrawal of Enron from the energy markets.

But, reflecting the concerns of other counterparties, he said there had been a "clear flight to quality" over the past few weeks. As of Wednesday morning, Dynegy had stopped trading with Enron because of a lack of credit support for trades, he added.

The ripple effects hit the shares of JP Morgan Chase and Citigroup, Enron's main creditors, which tumbled 3 per cent in morning trading. There were also signs of a flight to quality in the US bond markets, although traders said expectations of further interest rate cuts were the main reason for the increase in the price of two-year notes.

Dynegy said Enron had breached the merger agreement it signed less than three weeks ago. In what could be the first step towards the break-up of Enron's assets, Dynegy exercised its right to acquire the company's Northern Natural Gas pipeline under the agreement. Enron implied it might dispute Dynegy's right to the pipeline.

Enron's much-vaunted web-based trading system, EnronOnline, closed down within minutes of Standard & Poor's announcement of the debt downgrade and some counterparties pulled all trading.

Martin Stanley, president of European energy trading for TXU, the large US energy group, said: "We have halted trading with Enron. We are sorry to see it happen because they are a very innovative company."

Washington experts said that it was unlikely that Enron would be able to turn to regulators or politicians for support as it seeks to resolve its financial crisis.

Additional reporting by Nancy Dunne in Washington, Mary Chung in New York and Andrew Taylor in London

The loss of Enron's investment-grade credit rating forces some $3.9 billion in debts to come due immediately, a major problem for a company that has spent most of the $5.5 billion it sought in recent weeks to stay afloat. Enron said in a recent regulatory filing that it was unlikely to ``continue as a going concern'' were its credit rating to be slashed to junk status.

It became increasingly clear, as Dynegy sought to renegotiate the deal, that Enron's tricky and often indecipherable accounting was becoming a sticking point, sources close to the negotiations said.

``While it is regrettable to see a leading industry player in difficulties, this does not reflect a failure of the merchant energy business,'' Dynegy Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Chuck Watson said in a statement.

Dynegy said it would exercise its option to buy Enron's Northern Natural Gas Pipeline with the $1.5 billion it and partner ChevronTexaco (Philadelphia:CHV - news) put into the deal.

Dynegy said it stopped trading with Enron as of Wednesday morning, pegging its exposure at $75 million.

A bad sign came earlier on Wednesday, as energy traders said operations had stopped at Enron's once highly lucrative online trading system, EnronOnline. The unit accounted for up to 90 percent of Enron's earnings, and was considered the jewel of the trading franchise that Dynegy coveted most in its planned $9.3 billion all-stock takeover.


RISK MANAGEMENT FAILURES

Enron, which touted itself as an agile risk manager, found its credit and debt had spiraled out of control as a series of partnerships designed to hide debt off of its balance sheet caused investors to lose faith in recent weeks.

The partnerships, which included top Enron executives and are the subject of a U.S. Securities and Exchange investigation, provided financing in exchange for guarantees that Enron's stock stay above certain levels and its credit remain investment-grade. But they came back onto the balance sheet with a vengeance, as Enron found it would have to meet massive debt obligations as its shares and credit fell.

Enron shares plunged $3.53, or 85 percent, to 61 cents on Wednesday, as the New York Stock Exchange twice halted trading of Enron shares before announcements affecting the company. It's stock has fallen more than 98 percent this year.

The stock peaked at $90.56 in August 2000, riding high on the cresting wave of the technology boom after Enron took its trading outfit online and promised to bring its business model into the broadband communications arena.

``They (Enron) entrapped the sophisticates,'' said Robert Stovall, senior strategist at Prudential Securities, referring to what was once an almost fawning admiration for Enron by institutional investors. ``I think this is going to become a classic case.''

Stovall, with nearly 50 years of Wall Street experience, said he could not recall any previous corporate unraveling that matches that of Enron.

``You would have to go to pre-SEC days for that,'' he said, referring to the creation of the SEC in the aftermath of the stock market crash of 1929.


THE FINAL CUTS

Standard & Poor's, Moody's Investors Service and Fitch all cut their ratings on the fallen energy trading giant's debt to junk status. S&P said it had lost confidence in Enron's ability to complete the merger with Dynegy, and said bankruptcy was a ''distinct possibility'' if the merger fails.

Andre Meade, a Commerzbank analyst who has been consistently bearish on Enron and the deal, said its core business deteriorated at an increasing pace in recent weeks, and the ratings agencies could not find the liquidity they wanted inside Enron.

``The numbers were not enough to soothe them,'' said Meade, who downgraded Enron to ``sell'' from ``hold'' on Wednesday. ``This company should have been downgraded to junk weeks ago. The ratings agencies had given them several weeks, and they just couldn't hold out anymore.''

Dynegy on Nov. 9 said it would take over Enron in a deal valued at about $10.41 per Enron share. ChevronTexaco Corp., a major Dynegy shareholder, pledged to immediately pump $1.5 billion into Enron to bolster its withering finances.

Deal advisers J.P. Morgan Chase and Citigroup have already contributed $1 billion to the deal, and were expected to have to put up after Enron was rebuffed by private equity firms it had approached seeking more cash.

Representatives of Dynegy and Enron had haggled over new terms for the takeover late into Tuesday, including a buyout offer half the original price, sources close to the talks said.

Enron's crash began when it said it would take $1.01 billion in writedowns and charges against its third-quarter earnings for failed investments. It later admitted that it had to reduce stockholder equity by $1.2 billion to extract itself from partnerships in which now-ousted chief financial officer Andrew Fastow the managing partner.

Those deals, in which Fastow earned about $30 million in management fees, are the subject of an SEC investigation and the. Worse yet for Enron, it was required to restate its earnings going back four years, shaving off $600 million in the process.

Wednesday November 28, 5:40 pm Eastern Time

CFTC,NYMEX monitoring Enron effect on futures markets
WASHINGTON, Nov 28 (Reuters) - The Commodity Futures Trading Commission said on Wednesday it was monitoring the potential effect that Enron's (NYSE:ENE - news) problems could have on American futures exchanges.

On Wednesday Dynegy Inc. (NYSE:DYN - news) called off its proposed merger with Enron, a major trader in electricity and natural gas.

``We are monitoring the markets closely. We have been in contact with the exchanges on which Enron is trading. We are monitoring the financial conditions of the trading firms and clearing members that Enron does business with,'' said a CFTC spokesman.

Enron's registered futures commission merchant (FCM), Enron Trading Services Inc, is a member of the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) where energy contracts are traded, and of COMEX, which trades metal contracts.

The FCM is allowed to solicit and accept orders for buying and selling futures and options contracts, but mostly handles trades for the Enron parent company.

A NYMEX spokeswoman would not comment on Enron specifically, but said the exchange has measures in place to ensure the financial problems of any member can't financially harm other member firms.

``We carefully monitor all our markets and we're very confident there are adequate protections in place for all our market participants,'' the spokeswoman said

Wednesday November 28, 3:29 pm Eastern Time

White House says U.S. Treasury monitoring Enron

WASHINGTON, Nov 28 (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury Department is monitoring the potential market impact of Enron Corp's, financial difficulties, the White House said on Wednesday.

``That is monitored by the Treasury Department in terms of any effect it may have on markets or any other areas. They are keeping an eye on that,'' White House spokesman Ari Fleischer told reporters.

Enron, an energy firm, was on the brink of one of the biggest collapses in corporate history on Wednesday after its rescue by rival Dynegy Inc (NYSE:DYN - news) fell apart.

Enron suspends EnronOnline  
November 28, 2001: 3:52 p.m. ET

Company suspends Internet-based energy trading system.
 
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Enron Corp. suspended indefinitely further operation of its Internet-based EnronOnline trading system, the company said Wednesday.

"It (EnronOnline) has suspended operations and there is no estimate as to when operations will resume," Eric Thode, an Enron spokesman, told Reuters.

Enron (ENE: down $3.48 to $0.63, Research, Estimates) halted the system soon after Standard & Poor's announced it had downgraded Enron's debt to "junk" status as a result of the flood of financial problems battering the Houston-based company.

Enron was by far the largest U.S. natural gas and electricity trader, with industry analysts estimating it was once involved in some 20 percent of daily trade in those markets.

EnronOnline until recently accounted for about 60 percent of the daily trade volume handled by Enron.

Ich habe gerade Deinen Thread "99% Gagaisten bei Ariva! Lernt ihr nie was?" gelesen. Respekt, Respekt. Du scheinst wirklich was von der Sache zu verstehen.

Das ändert aber nichts daran, das "das Lebbe trotzdem weidergeht...". Was anderes habe ich gar nicht ausdrücken wollen. Sei einfach das nächste mal nicht gleich so agrassiv. Auf der anderen Seite: Wenn ich mir hier so die vielen Schwätzer ansehe, kann ich verstehen, daß Du erst mal mit der groben kelle schwingst.

Auf jeden Fall werde ich in Zukunft Deine Threads mit Interese lesen.

So long,
Calexa

PS: Ein Zocker bin ich aber immer noch nicht!

Oder, wer gewinnen will, muß auch verlieren können.

Die Marktkapitalisierung Enrons fiel von 59,5 Mrd. $ im Februar/März auf jetzt rund 400 Mio. Dynegy hatte seinen Jahrehöchststand etwa im Mai und verlor rund 5 Mrd auf jetzt 8,6. Noch vor wenigen Monaten hatte Enron 1 Mrd Cash, Dynegy etwa ein Viertel. Im gleichen Verhältnis bewegen sich auch die Beschäftigtenzahlen: rund 20.000 Enron zu rd. 5.000 Dynegy. Enron zahlte bis vor kurzem noch eine Dividende, die etwa der heutigen Marktkpitalisierung entspricht. Diese ist wieder wesentlich geringer als die kurzfristig nach Rückstufung fälligen Verbindlichkeiten.
Wenn Enron in Konkurs geht, gewinnen Dynegy und die anderen Wettbewerber und es verlieren die Banken. Es wird vermutlich den Versuch geben, im Rahmen eines Bankenkonsortiums die Kredite umzuschulden (Merke: Die wären ohne Downgrading ja noch gar nicht fällig.), das Management auszuwechseln und die Firma effizienter zu machen. Nur so können die Banken den Großteil ihrer Kredite retten. Wie das ausgeht, werden wir erleben. Ohne Einigung der Kreditgeber wird nichts laufen. Dann ist die Pleite sicher.
Jetzt ist es wie beim Roulette: schwarz oder rot, alles oder nichts. Darf man das auch emotionslos betrachten? Beim Roulette wird ja auch nicht ständig herumkrakeelt, Herr Marabut.

R

Hai,
natürlich kann es auch sein, dass Enron nur pleitegeht und sonst nichts passiert. Vielleicht haben sie weniger verschleierte Schulden als gedacht. Was aber noch nicht angesprochen wurde, vielleicht haben die auch an der Börse mitgezockt, für einen Energielieferanten ist das sehr naheliegend. Und da könnten sie auch dick im Minus liegen mit irgendwelchen Derivaten. Hoffen wir das beste und Gruss an alle, m  

werden wir erst in den nächsten Tagen erhalten....und dann auch nicht umfassend, weil gar nicht alles ans Licht der Öffentlichkeit gelangen wird.

So long,
Calexa

On Wednesday, Enron said that it had temporarily suspended "all payments other than those necessary to maintain core operations".

"We are evaluating and exploring other options to protect our core energy businesses," said Kenneth Lay, Enron chairman and chief executive.

The company has hired Blackstone Group, a well-known restructuring and bankruptcy specialist, to advise it.

Enron accounts for about 25 per cent of energy trading in the US and has a similar share of the European market. Its disappearance could cause liquidity problems in US energy markets, fuel volatility and perhaps drive some counterparties out of business.

Dynegy, its smaller rival, on Wednesday pulled the plug on its rescue bid for Enron after failing to agree renegotiated terms for the deal. "We feel we had no choice but to act in our shareholders' interests," said Chuck Watson, Dynegy chairman and chief executive. "We knew when to say no and, this morning, we said no."

Credit rating agencies also recognised the reality of Enron's plight by downgrading its debt to junk. They refrained from downgrading Enron pending the Dynegy bid and their action alone means Enron has to repay, refinance or put up extra cash backing for $3.9bn of debt. Enron shares, which at their peak last year traded at $90, fell 85 per cent on Wednesday to close at 61 cents setting a new New York Stock Exchange record for trading volume in a single stock.

"Enron is on the verge of filing for bankruptcy. I don't see any way they can avoid it," said Andre Meade, an analyst with Commerzbank.

Bankers and analysts have been warning about the systemic risk in the energy and financial sectors since Enron's crisis of confidence deepened last month. Dynegy's bid and the rating agencies' decision not to downgrade had provided a stay of execution.

Steve Bergstrom, Dynegy's chief operating officer, said on Wednesday he believed market participants had been able to prepare themselves for the potential withdrawal of Enron from the energy markets it dominated.

But, reflecting the concerns of other counterparties, he said there had been a "clear flight to quality" over the past few weeks.

Dynegy and other energy traders have stopped trading with Enron because of a lack of credit support for trades.

On Wednesday, the ripple effects from Enron's problems hit the shares of JP Morgan Chase and Citigroup, Enron's main creditors, which tumbled 5.78 per cent and 5.44 per cent respectively.

Dynegy said Enron had breached the merger agreement it signed less than three weeks ago. In what could be the first step towards the break-up of Enron's assets, Dynegy exercised its right to acquire the company's Northern Natural Gas pipeline under the agreement. Enron indicated it might dispute Dynegy's right to the pipeline.

Enron war 1985 durch die Fusion der regionalen Erdgasleitungsfirmen Houston National Gas und InterNorth entstanden. Das Unternehmen nutzte die in den späten achtziger Jahren beginnende Liberalisierung des amerikanischen Erdgas- und die spätere Entregulierung des US-Strommarktes konsequent aus und entwickelte sich zum weltgrößten Energiehändler.

Enron-Chef Kenneth L. Lay (59), ein guter Bekannter von US- Präsident George W. Bush, hatte das Pipeline-Unternehmen bis zum Jahr 2000 zu einem weltweit operierenden Energie- und Rohstoffhandels- Konzern mit 100 Milliarden Dollar Jahresumsatz gemacht, der in der Fortune-Liste der größten US-Unternehmen auf Platz sieben lag.

Der promovierte Ökonom, Marineoffizier und Erdgasindustrielle hatte schon früh erkannt, dass Versorgungsunternehmen langfristige Erdgas- und Strom-Lieferverträge haben wollten, während die Produzenten an möglichst hohen Preisen interessiert waren. Enron trat als Zwischenhändler auf, und vermittelte die Transaktionen, gegen lukrative Vermittlungsgebühren versteht sich.

Dann weitete sich das Enron-Geschäft mit stark schwankenden Strom- und Erdgaspreisen in den letzten Jahren dramatisch aus. Mit dem immer höheren Handelsvolumen mit immer mehr Rohstoffen stiegen die Handelsrisiken und Enron verschuldete immer stärker. Enron steht heute mir rund 20 Milliarden Dollar in der Kreide.  

Noch im vergangenen Jahr legte Enron eine beeindruckende Bilanz hin: Der Umsatz betrug 101 Milliarden Dollar (223,7 Millionen Mark/114,3 Millionen Euro), der Gewinn mehr als eine Milliarde Dollar. In der Liste der 500 wichtigsten US-Unternehmen des Magazins "Fortune" lag Enron auf dem siebten Platz, weltweit auf dem 16.

Das Problem dabei, die Bücher enthielten nicht die ganze Wahrheit. Um die enormen Kosten für die Zukäufe zu verschleiern, gründete Enron unzählige Nebenunternehmen, in denen die Schulden vor den Augen der Investoren versteckt wurden. Hinzu kam ein offenbar unfähiger Finanzdirektor. Am 16. Oktober musste Enron offenbaren, dass sich unter anderem 1,2 Milliarden Dollar seines Kapitals einfach in Luft aufgelöst haben - vernichtet in Fonds, die vom eigenen Finanzdirektor gegründet worden waren. Dieser ist inzwischen gegangen, die Schulden aber sind geblieben.

Enron muss nach Berechnungen der Ratingagentur Fitch in Kürze sieben Milliarden Dollar an Schulden begleichen, die nicht in den Büchern standen. Hinzu kommen Verpflichtungen von 3,9 Milliarden Dollar durch ebenfalls kriselnde Partnerunternehmen. Und ganz offiziell gibt es dann sowieso noch 13 Milliarden Dollar Schulden, die auch abgezahlt werden müssten.

Dieses Geld aber hat Enron nicht, auch Dynegy will nun nicht helfen. Am Mittwoch kündigte Enron deshalb schon einmal an, dass es vorerst nur Rechnungen bezahlen werde, die für die Aufrechterhaltung des Betriebs unbedingt nötig sind. Ein Gang zum Insolvenzrichter wurde in der Erklärung noch nicht erwähnt - letztlich wird ihn Enron aber wohl antreten müssen. Dabei könnte der Energiekonzern einen traurigen Rekord aufstellen. Die bisher größte Firmenpleite in den USA hatte 1987 der damals 35 Milliarden Dollar schwere Mineralölkonzern Texaco hingelegt. Dies könnte Enron nach den Berechnungen von Experten noch toppen.

Viele Geschäftspartner reduzierten bereits vor Wochen ihr Engagement mit Enron. Der deutsche Energieversorger EnBW begann nach eigenen Angaben, Positionen zu schließen, als Ende August ein erster Verdacht aufgekommen sei. "Im September waren wir dann wirklich besorgt", sagte Markus Suessmann, Chef des Energiehandels bei EnBW. Weitere Handelspartner beendeten nach eigenen Angaben den Handel mit Enron mittlerweile komplett.

Zu den Haupthandelspartnern gehören bislang die deutschen Versorger E.ON und RWE sowie die britische Innogy und British Energy. Auch die US-Stromkonzerne TXU, AEP, Dynegy und Duke Energy handelten mit Enron. Die Internet-Plattform für den elektronischen Energiehandel EnronOnline, die 1999 ihren Dienst aufnahm und am Mittwoch den Handel beendete, galt als Standard für Energiehändler und Versorger. Etwa 60 % des Enron-Handels liefen über diese Plattform.

Neben dem Stromhandel betreibt Enron in Europa Kraftwerke in Italien, Polen, Griechenland und Großbritannien. Das Unternehmen entstand 1985 aus der Fusion der US-Versorger Houston Natural Gas und InterNorth. Die Enron-Aktien stiegen bis August 2000 auf einen Höchststand von 90,56 $. Einst wurde Enron in der Fortune-500-Liste der größten US-Unternehmen auf Rang sieben geführt. Am Mittwoch schlossen die Aktien an der New Yorker Börse bei 0,61 $ mit dem Rekordumsatz von 181,86 Mill. Aktien - mehr als je zuvor an einem Tag in einer Aktie umgesetzt wurde. Sollte Enron in Konkurs gehen, wäre dies einer der größten Firmenzusammenbrüche in der Geschichte der USA.

U.S. government to rescue ENE (rumors)
by: on_trend
Long-Term Sentiment: Buy  11/29/01 12:24 pm
Msg: 84584 of 84638

bigcharts.marketwatch.com/news/...uid={70AFCC54-8A99-4CEE-A5FE -83F0F802E7E8}&newsid=793816557&orig=charting&time=8&symb=:ENE&sid=1803&source=h tx\http2_mw

The Enron Corp. saga continues to dominate the market Thursday with speculation mounting that one of two options are now available to the U.S. energy giant: the declaration of Chapter 11 bankruptcy and a restructuring of the company's debt under these conditions, or a massive rescue package bailout by the U.S. government. What has become clear is that most market observers do not expect Enron to vanish, given the ripple effect this would have for the U.S. economy, and, by implication, for the Bush Presidency.


Many, however, are speculating that the U.S. government will step in to rescue Enron. "In the present climate, politicians could easily take extraordinary measures to rescue Enron in the name of national energy security and stability. People would not only accept such a move, they would applaud it," one market observer said. Another factor in its favor is that Enron is not unfamiliar at a personal level with the highest authority in its land - the company and its employees have been the single biggest group of contributors to President George W. Bush's campaigns.

EnronOnline Reopens, Begins Trading Natural Gas, Power, Metals
By Margot Habiby


Houston, Nov. 29 (Bloomberg) -- Enron Corp., the energy trader whose buyout by rival Dynegy Inc. was canceled yesterday, resumed trading in natural gas, electricity and metals on its EnronOnline Internet market.

The products traded on EnronOnline today are ``a small subset'' of the usual offerings, Enron spokesman Eric Thode said. The products ``were determined by the traders,'' he said. EnronOnline shut yesterday after Standard & Poor's cut Enron's credit rating to junk status.

Shares of Enron fell 21 cents to 40 cents in midday trading. They fell 85 percent yesterday after Dynegy abandoned its bid after the credit-rating cut. Both companies are based in Houston.

Enron still is trading other commodities by telephone, Thode said.

von bereits bestehenden Kontrakten. Was Neues wird da nicht abgeschlossen!

Analyst surveyed by Thomson Financial/First Call are currently expecting 2001 earnings-per-share of $2.45, on average, and 2002 EPS of $2.74, a 12-percent increase. Shares fell by 7 cents to $26.98 in recent action.

Duke Energy

Charlotte, N.C.-based Duke Energy has taken steps to manage its exposure to Enron, the company said Thursday, and has instituted a trading halt.

Richard Osborne, executive vice president and chief risk officer of Duke (DUK: news, chart, profile), said that while the company didn't completely cease its trading with Enron until Wednesday, it has been limiting its exposure to it. Currently, it has about $100 million in unsecured exposure.

Enron's financial problems haven't shaken Duke's earnings expectations. Duke still sees 10 percent to 15 percent in compound annual earnings-per-share growth from a base of $2.10 in 2000 and will likely exceed 15 percent earnings growth for 2001.

In recent trading, shares were up 4 cents at $36.26.

Dominion



Power and natural-gas producer Dominion pegged its pre-tax credit exposure to Enron at $11 million for past sales, but it also has forward commodity sales contracts representing exposure of less than 5 percent of earnings.

Shares fell 26 cents to $58.29.

Dominion (D: news, chart, profile) also reaffirmed its expectations for public operating earnings of $4.15 a share or better in 2001, a per-share profit of $4.90 to $4.95 in 2002 and 10 percent annual earnings growth after 2002.

Exelon

Electric utility company Exelon said its net exposure to Enron is less than $10 million, and direct gross exposure for current energy sales from the company to Enron is less than $20 million.

The Chicago-based company (EXC: news, chart, profile) has also halted new trading activity with the embattled energy trader. The stock rose 39 cents to trade at $43.59.

Sempra

Sempra Energy pegged its overall financial exposure to Enron and its affiliates at less than $15 million.

Shares of the company (SRE: news, chart, profile), which is parent to California's cash-strapped San Diego Gas and Electric, fell by 13 cents to stand at $22.57.

Calpine

Calpine emphasized that it has "no net exposure" with Enron or the energy trading company's subsidiaries.



As a result, shares jumped $1.51, or 7.3 percent, to $22.61.

The San Jose, Calif.-based power company (CPN: news, chart, profile) has an agreement in place that allows it to offset the amounts owed by Enron with amounts it owes to that company. Calpine's dealings with Enron, which it has been gradually decreasing over he past several months, have been for power and natural gas sales and purchase contracts.

El Paso

El Paso Corp. has a minimal financial exposure of $50 million to Enron and doesn't expect any adverse earnings impact from Enron's difficulties.



Wise emphasized that El Paso's (EPG: news, chart, profile) earnings outlook "remains strong" and that its merchant energy business is gaining market share by providing customers with reliable fuel supply services.

El Paso has been "systematically" reducing its trading with Enron over the past several weeks, the company said, and because of Enron's loss of investment grade status, new business will have to be supported by cash collateral. Still, the stock fell 34 cents to $44.57.

Mirant

Atlanta-based Mirant pegged its pretax exposure to Enron at $50 million to $60 million, emphasizing that it began to limit its exposure risk early in the Enron crisis.

Mirant (MIR: news, chart, profile) said it's "confident" that the energy marketing sector is "mature enough" to function without Enron, and has also seen new business opportunities develop because of Enron's situation. Shares of Mirant traded at $24.85, up $1.46.

Denbury Resources

Dallas-based Denbury Resources said that no payments from Enron are overdue, but it can't predict the amounts, if any, it will eventually get under the Enron hedge contracts.

If Enron were to pay off certain natural-gas price floor contracts set for 2002 and 2003, Denbury (DNR: news, chart, profile) would get about $19 million during 2002 and another $7 million in 2003, the company said. Shares fell 62 cents to $6.15.

Myra P. Saefong is a reporter for CBS.MarketWatch.com in San Francisco

While the Houston-based company's disintegration has raised questions about its securities accounting procedures, federal energy regulators said there was no sign of spillover damage to U.S. electricity and natural gas markets. Both markets have plentiful supplies at this time, unlike last winter.

Republican lawmakers said there was no need for Congress to get involved in Enron's business collapse.

Rep. Billy Tauzin, the Louisiana Republican who heads the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said lawmakers did not need to step in unless Enron precipitated another energy crisis like the one seen in California last winter.

``Certainly if there is any disruption in energy markets as a result of Enron's collapse our committee will respond quickly,'' said a spokesman for Tauzin. ``But right now there is absolutely no sentiment, none, for Congress to rush in and try to prop up the company.''

``It's not our job to bail out companies that make bad business decisions,'' the Tauzin spokesman added.

ANY IMPACT ON CONSUMERS?

The Democrat who heads the Senate Energy Committee was expected to make a statement later on Thursday on the Enron situation. It was unclear whether Sen. Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico would call for formal hearings on the effect of the company's problems on energy markets.

``We're looking at our options,'' said a Senate Energy committee spokesman. ``We have to look at what effect Enron will have on the consumer.''

Any Enron hearings would likely have to wait until Congress returns from its holiday recess in late January, as lawmakers are swamped with other legislation and spending bills, the spokesman said.

Another Democrat, Michigan Rep. John Dingell, earlier this month called for an investigation of the accounting firm that handled Enron's books. Dingell is the ranking Democrat on the House energy panel.

Some analysts said Enron would find little sympathy in Washington, despite the company's close ties to the Bush administration. Enron chairman Kenneth Lay was a major contributor to President George W. Bush's election campaign, and was a key adviser on energy policy earlier this year.

``It's not like (Enron)... had an act of God,'' said Christine Uspenski, a utility analyst with Schwab Capital Markets.

``They're far more culpable. No one put a gun to their head and told them to be cute with their accounting,'' she added.

Enron wird nächste Woche, vielleicht schon am Montag Konkurs anmelden. Diese Meldung steht in der New York Times, der Financial Times und bei BBC. Auch David Faber, der zuständige Analyst von MSNBC sieht absolut keine andere Lösung! Der Grund, warum die Konkursmeldung solange dauert, ist schlicht und einfach, dass man da bestimmte Papiere einreichen muss und die sind nicht fertig. Sobald sozusagen die Papiere beisammen sind, gehen sie zum Gericht!
Enron Europa ist bereits unter einer Art zwangsverwaltung. Auch in anderen Ländern wie in Indien und Südamerika scheint es bereits zu Konfiskationen und Blockaden gekommen zu sein. Das heisst, Gläubiger versuchen sich an Enron-Eigentum schadlos zu halten. Bei einem Konkurs, der mindestens 3 Jahre dauert bis zu einer endgültigen Abwicklung werden die Aktionäre nichts bekommen. Viel Spass beim Zocken!  

Enron wolle voraussichtlich den Konkursschutz (Chapter 11) in Anspruch nehmen, um zeitweise vor den Forderungen seiner Gläubiger geschützt zu sein, hieß es in den Enron nahe stehenden Kreisen. "Sie arbeiten an den Details. Morgen wäre es aber zu früh, Anfang nächster Woche wäre deshalb ein realistischerer Termin", fügten die Insider am Donnerstag in Houston hinzu. Unklar war, ob Enron möglicherweise sein Geschäft in einer kleineren Gesellschaft aufrechterhalten will oder nicht.

Die Geschäfte von Enron sind inzwischen fast zum Erliegen gekommen. Die Stromlieferungen nach Kontinentaleuropa wurden am Freitag eingestellt, wie aus Handelskreisen in Frankfurt verlautete. Die Prüfungsgesellschaft PricewaterhouseCoopers hatte am Vortag in London die Verwaltung der europäischen Tochter übernommen. Das Europa-Geschäft von Enron soll laut PricewaterhouseCoopers abgespalten werden. Enron Europe werde noch am Freitag eine Mitteilung zum Stellenabbau in Europa machen, hieß es in den Handelskreisen weiter.

Nur wenige Marktteilnehmer wollten am Donnerstag an den US-Rohstoffbörsen mit Enron handeln. Die New Yorker Mercantile Exchange (Nyme) schränkte den gesamten Handel mit Enron ein. Dies führte dazu, dass der Preis für Öl an der Nyme zurückging. Die einst lukrative Internet-Handelsplattform, EnronOnline, öffnete am Donnerstag lediglich, damit die Marktteilnehmer nach Angaben eines Unternehmenssprechers ihre Positionen mit Enron abwickeln konnten.

Vier der größten australischen Banken haben ihre Enron-Verbindlichkeiten am Freitag mit rund 50 bis 100 Millionen Dollar beziffert. Auch zahlreiche japanische Broker-Firmen haben Enron-Anleihen in ihren Geldmarkt-Fonds. Die Deutsche Bank hatte am Donnerstag bekannt gegeben, ihr Verlust würde im schlimmsten Fall weit weniger als 100 Millionen Dollar betragen. Dagegen hat die Credit Lyonnaise nach eigenen Angaben rund 250 Millionen Dollar - die Hälfte davon unversichert - in Enron stecken. Die Versorger-Holding Duke Energy Corp beziffert ihre unversicherten Ausstände mit 100 Millionen Dollar. Die größten Ausstände haben US-Banken wie J.P. Morgan Chase & Co mit 500 Millionen Dollar an unversicherten Ausständen und die Citigroup Inc mit 700 bis 800 Millionen Dollar, wovon die Hälfte unversichert ist, wie die Banken am Vorabend mitteilten.

The collapse of Enron's stock, from nearly $90 a share a year ago to pennies per share now, has wiped out nearly $30 billion in shareholder value. Yesterday, members of Congress called for investigations into the financial losses suffered by Enron's 21,000 employees, many of whom had Enron stock in their company retirement plans. Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) said Enron may have violated federal pension plan law.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee announced it will begin an investigation of Enron's collapse. "How a company can sink so far so fast is very troubling," Chairman W.J. "Billy" Tauzin (R-La.) said through a spokesman.

The committee will focus on Enron's complex investments in outside partnerships, some run by its former chief financial officer, that had billions of dollars indebts that were not disclosed in the company's financial statements. The extent of Enron's involvement in the partnerships was not known until last month, when Enron disclosed it had overstated earnings by $583 million in the past four years.

"We need to know if the company's accounting practices masked any severe underlying financial problems," Tauzin said.

Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Harvey L. Pitt said the commission will complete its ongoing probe of Enron's accounting and financial disclosures "thoroughly but quickly and, if wrongdoing occurred, make sure that the people who were responsible for that will answer for it," Bloomberg reported.

Dynegy Inc., the Houston energy trader that abandoned a proposed rescue of its larger crosstown rival on Wednesday, said it faces $75 million in potential losses. Dynegy said it will exercise its right from the buyout agreement to acquire Enron's Northern Natural Gas system in exchange for $1.5 billion that ChevronTexaco, a major Dynegy shareholder, invested in Enron to help keep it running.

Duke Energy, one of the nation's largest energy providers, said it has about $100 million in unsecured claims against Enron for future energy supplies that the Houston company has committed to deliver, plus related financial obligations. Williams Cos., a Tulsa-based energy company, said it too faced a possible $100 million loss if Enron could not fulfill its energy supply contracts.

But Duke also stands to gain from Enron's demise. The Charlotte-based company competes with Enron as a buyer and seller of energy products and its business has leaped 30 percent over the past month, as Enron's financial crisis mushroomed.

"The opportunities are increasing. Duke is a major beneficiary," said Harvey Padewer, group president of energy services.

Enron transformed itself from a natural gas pipeline company into the leader in energy trading under its longtime chairman and chief executive, Ken Lay, a fundraiser and close confidant of President Bush and the Bush family. Several administration officials have ties to the firm, including Army Secretary Thomas E. White Jr., who was an Enron executive.

Even before the financial disclosures precipitated a crisis, Enron's profits had suffered from falling energy prices and costly, failed investments in Internet networks and foreign projects.

At its peak, Enron handled as much as 20 percent of the nation's energy transactions, which included basic contracts to deliver natural gas from wells to pipelines for distribution to heating customers, and the output of electric power plants sold to utilities. Around those supply contracts were woven a far larger number of complex financial transactions designed to limit the risks of sudden energy price changes or to capitalize on those changes by correctly guessing where prices were headed.

Through its EnronOnline Web site, Enron offered to buy or sell energy from suppliers at prices it determined. Enron was the middleman and buyers and sellers were never directly in contact.

EnronOnline resumed operations on a limited basis yesterday, after shutting down Wednesday, so traders could finish transactions and offset credit risk with the company. The New York Mercantile Exchange barred floor members from accepting orders from Enron without special written authorization, Bloomberg reported.

As customers have fled Enron in the past month, many went to a major competitor, the Atlanta-based Intercontinental Exchange. The ICE system was formed in March 2000 with support from more than a dozen energy companies as an alternative to Enron.

"We see our volume taking off astronomically. We're literally being crushed by people trying to get on our system," said ICE's chief executive, Jeffrey Sprecher. It is now handling $2.5 billion in trades a day, Sprecher said. Yesterday, he ordered 10 large computers shipped in from the West Coast to Atlanta to bolster the company's trading system.

This shift in business is another heavy blow to Enron, undercutting what had been the company's chief asset -- hundreds of skilled traders and a computerized trading system that would cost more than $100 million to duplicate, according to some analysts.

Nancy Rapoport, dean of the University of Houston Law Center and a bankruptcy professor, said it might well be beneficial for Enron to file for bankruptcy protection "to avoid death by paper cuts, all the lawsuits" from various creditors.

But if most of its customers are gone for good, as many analysts predict, Enron's chances of emerging from bankruptcy would be remote, said Jim Spiotto, a Chicago attorney and bankruptcy expert.

Enron's situation may most closely resemble the plight of Drexel Burnham Lambert, a leading Wall Street investment firm that failed following the trading scandals of the late 1980s, Spiotto said. Its business -- like Enron's -- was based on relationships and confidence, and when those evaporated, so did Drexel, he said.

Enron "will never be what it was," he said. "The problem with a death spiral is, it's a crisis of confidence and it's very hard to get people to come back. They aren't manufacturing something that people in the United States need. They're doing deals, and it takes two to do deals."

David H. Wiggs, now the general manager of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, said his experience as chairman of El Paso Electric Co. as he shepherded it through Chapter 11 in the mid-1990s tells him that no one is likely to come out a winner in the Enron case.

He said any Enron bankruptcy case, because of the firm's size and complexity of its contracts, will be "incredibly complicated."

Banking analysts say at least eight U.S. banks have financial exposure to Enron, with the total amount estimated as high as $2.6 billion. In addition to Citigroup and J.P. Morgan Chase, the banks are Bank of America, Bank of New York, FleetBoston Financial, BankOne, Wachovia and SunTrust.

With the exception of Citigroup and J.P. Morgan Chase and possibly Bank of America, most are expected to have risks under $100 million, according to Merrill Lynch & Co. bank analyst Judah Krashaar.

But most agree Citigroup and J.P. Morgan Chase have the biggest exposure, including as much as $500 million each in unsecured bank loans, letters of credit and complex financial contracts known as derivatives, industry analysts and executives say. Citigroup and J.P. Morgan Chase executives are estimating they will get 20 percent to 25 percent -- or $100 million to $125 million each -- back on their unsecured exposure, bank sources say, which means they expect to lose as much as $400 million each.

Losses from Enron's troubles would be, in the words of one banker, "a black eye" for banks but would by no means cripple any company, industry analysts and executives said yesterday.

Staff writers Kenneth Bredemeier and Kathleen Day contributed to this report.



© 2001 The Washington Post Company  

Activity at many Enron divisions in more than 40 countries has ground to a halt. With 21,000 employees, it has interests in everything from marketing natural gas and electricity to dealing in such commodities as metals, coal, pulp and paper.

Enron reopened EnronOnline yesterday to allow traders to unwind positions and manage their credit exposure to the company.

The seemingly inevitable collapse of Enron is expected to open up a Pandora's Box for regulators who allowed the company to operate as a bank through complicated derivatives and futures selling.

Sen. Tom Daschle, the Senate Majority Leader, demanded a Congressional inquiry into the collapse of Enron and the impact on the entire U.S. energy industry. "We certainly need to try to find answers to the questions involving the collapse of Enron," said Mr. Daschle, a Democrat from South Dakota. "I think we need to find as much information as possible, and make some assessments of whether it's indicative of energy in the larger context and if it is, what we ought to do about it," he said. "It raises some very serious questions."

Rep. Billy Tauzin, the Louisiana Republican who heads the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said lawmakers did not need to step in unless Enron precipitated another energy crisis like last winter's in California.

Earlier yesterday Rep. John Dingell, a Democrat from Michigan, called for an investigation of the accounting firm that handled Enron's books.

The company began to unravel just days after it announced it would merge with Dynegy, another energy trader, in a deal pegged at US$8.4-billion in Dynegy stock. Subsequently, Then Enron disclosed to the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission that it overstated US$580-million in profits between 1997 and this year.

More damning, it admitted it had parked about US$500-million debt off its books into lucrative partnerships with its top executives and that it would have difficulty meeting obligations if its credit rating was downgraded. The SEC is investigating.

Standard & Poor's and Moody's downgraded Enron's once top-rated bonds to junk status yesterday, meaning that US$3.9-billion of debt became due immediately and as much as US$16-billion in other debt due next year may have to be paid sooner.

Investors panicked and, in a record day on the New York Stock Exchange, dumped 339 million shares for whatever they could get. Enron's shares closed down 85% to US61¢ Wednesday and fell another 31% yesterday to close at US36¢.

Chuck Watson, Dynegy's chairman and CEO, said yesterday the disclosures of further deterioration of Enron's operators led him to pull out of the deal.

Enron worked frantically to try to control the damage, saying it was evaluating whether previously declared dividends will be paid on the corporation's common and preferred stock. It also brought in the accounting firm Pricewaterhousecoopers in London to take over its European operations.

Analysts held out little hope for Enron, which had assets a year ago of US$80-billion and revenues of US$979-million.

"I'm not sure they have any other alternatives [to bankruptcy], unless banks are willing to siphon more money into a black hole," said Carole Coale, a Prudential Securities analyst. "Investors will not buy it."

The collapse is also a major embarrassment for George W. Bush, the U.S. President, who is a close friend of Kenneth Lay, Enron's chairman. Mr. Lay was on the short list for treasury secretary, a post held by Paul O'Neill.

pmorton@nationalpost.com

17:32 Uhr:  Blitzmeinung von Christina Anastassiou  


  Deutsche Banken stecken doch im Enron-Sumpf  

   
Am Donnerstag wuschen sie sich noch die Hände in Unschuld, am Freitag sieht die Lage anders aus. Nicht nur die Deutsche Bank leidet unter der Krise des US-Energiehändlers Enron. Auch die HypoVereinsbank sieht beim möglichen Konkurs rund 100 Millionen Dollar an Krediten in Gefahr. Die Dresdner Bank ist ebenfalls mit rund 100 Millionen Mark engagiert, die Commerzbank sprach von einem niedrigen Millionen-Betrag. Die Institute sollten einen Enron-Konkurs verkraften können, wenn gleich dieser das Risiko von Bankaktien in der Konjunkturflaute zeigt.  
 



© 2001 sharper.de

Und vielleicht ist gerade dies das Schlimme! Aber Enron geht pleite, soviel ist sicher. Es fragt sich nur, wer sonst noch!