Energy Crisis

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Bankrupt energy company Enron Corp. has agreed to pay $47.5 million in a settlement that could reach $1.5 billion to resolve claims that it gouged California and other Western states during the 2000-2001 energy crisis. The settlement will end market manipulation and price gouging claims against the once highflying Houston-based company, California Attorney General Bill Lockyer said yesterday, but the exact amount could be considerably less than the settlement's face value.

A few pages into "The Last Great Senate," a sharply focused and instructive look back at the institution's bipartisan achievements of the late 1970s, Ira Shapiro recounts a conversation between Thomas Jefferson and George Washington. Jefferson, who was overseas during the Constitutional Convention, asked Washington why he believed the idea of the Senate was necessary when the people had a strong voice in the House of Representatives. "Why did you pour that coffee into your saucer?"

WASHINGTON - A bipartisan group of 26 elder statesmen is sending an open letter to both presidential candidates and every member of Congress saying that the country faces "a long-term energy crisis" that threatens the security and prosperity of future generations if swift action isn't taken. The group includes Henry Kissinger, Colin Powell, and six other former secretaries of state or defense, former senators of both parties, and a half-dozen former senior White House advisers and other Cabinet officers for both Republican and Democratic former presidents.

The Cyprus government says it has agreed with party leaders on an initial austerity package to buoy the Mediterranean island's beleaguered economy in the wake of a deadly blast that has triggered an energy crisis. Government spokesman Stefanos Stefanou did not disclose details of the package, but says it's the first of several to tackle both the island's fiscal and structural problems. The announcement comes after Cyprus' top banker warned earlier this week that the Jul. 11 blast which killed 13 and devastated the main power station may force the European Union member to seek a...

BUSKIRK, N.Y. - A few years ago, Kathleen Breault was just another suburban grandmother, driving countless hours every week, stopping for lunch at McDonald's , buying clothes at the mall, watching television in the evenings. That was before Breault heard an author talk about the bleak future of the world's oil supply. Now she's preparing for the world as we know it to disappear. Breault, 50, cut her driving time in half. She switched to a diet of locally grown foods near her upstate New York home and lost 70 pounds.

TBILISI, Georgia -- Snow and freezing temperatures yesterday deepened the misery in Georgia, where millions were without power and a natural gas shortage forced people to chop wood for heat. With the Caucasus Mountain nation suffering its worst energy crisis in years, President Mikhail Saakashvili cut short his trip to the World Economic Forum in Switzerland to try to assuage anxiety that sent residents into long lines to fill kerosene canisters for portable heaters. Some people brought jewelry and other valuables to pawn shops to...

A few pages into "The Last Great Senate," a sharply focused and instructive look back at the institution's bipartisan achievements of the late 1970s, Ira Shapiro recounts a conversation between Thomas Jefferson and George Washington. Jefferson, who was overseas during the Constitutional Convention, asked Washington why he believed the idea of the Senate was necessary when the people had a strong voice in the House of Representatives. "Why did you pour that coffee into your saucer?"

The Cyprus government says it has agreed with party leaders on an initial austerity package to buoy the Mediterranean island's beleaguered economy in the wake of a deadly blast that has triggered an energy crisis. Government spokesman Stefanos Stefanou did not disclose details of the package, but says it's the first of several to tackle both the island's fiscal and structural problems. The announcement comes after Cyprus' top banker warned earlier this week that the Jul. 11 blast which killed 13 and devastated the main power station may force the European Union...

NEW YORK -- When rolling black outs roiled California in 2001, which companies based in the state rode out the energy crisis better? Large-cap stocks outside the technology sector performed almost on par with the benchmark Standard & Poor's 500 index, but small-caps underperformed the S&P 600 Small Cap index by more than double. That is the kind of analysis that Victor Canto espouses in "Cocktail Economics: Discovering Investment Truths from Everyday Conversations," a look at how to select winning asset classes based on economic cycles.

SAN FRANCISCO -- A subsidiary of Reliant Resources Inc. and four of its top-level employees were indicted yesterday in the first criminal charges accusing a company of driving up electricity prices during California's 2000-2001 energy crisis. The federal indictment alleges that Reliant Energy Services Inc., shut down four of the company's five power plants over two days in June 2000 to create a phony shortage and drive up electricity prices by $32 million. "The vast majority of corporate executives are honest, hard-working people," Attorney General...

Even the animated world of Lightning McQueen and Mater the tow truck is testing new energy sources to replace fossil fuels. Pixar Animation mastermind John Lasseter says the company has no environmental agenda, but with “Cars 2,’’ the blockbuster outfit does tap into today’s eco-mindedness with a plot driven by oil vs. a cleaner alternative. Debuting in U.S. theaters Friday, “Cars 2’’ sends race car Lightning McQueen (voiced by Owen Wilson) on a World Grand Prix circuit whose organizer fuels the vehicles with a green alternative called Allinol, prompting the bad guys...

FORT MYERS, Fla. - He's dressing in Manny's locker, he's got Nomar's number, and he's enshrined in the Rhode Island Italian-American Hall of Fame, right there alongside Ernie DeGregorio. Oh, and his name is Rocco. How can he be anything but a fan favorite at Fenway Park? Rocco Baldelli is scheduled to make his Red Sox debut against big league competition today when the club takes its show up Route 75 to play the American League champion Rays in Port Charlotte. Nice symmetry there.

ARLINGTON - The massive project started with a small water stain on the dining room ceiling that nagged at Alex Cheimets. He took the leak repair to the extreme. Four years later, his two-family condo in Arlington is encased in so much insulation, the builders switched to extra-long 10-inch screws just to attach it to the roof. His unique "super insulation" project has cost $100,000, though half of it is being picked up by sponsors including NStar . But Cheimets expects when it is completed in the coming weeks it will save him...

WASHINGTON - Senate majority leader Harry Reid has found a refuge in the nation's preoccupation with record energy prices. While the push by President Bush and congressional Republicans for more oil drilling is resonating with voters, the Nevada Democrat is focused on solar and other renewable energy sources, which happen to be more abundant in his home state than almost anywhere else in the country. At some political risk for the gold miner's son, Reid also is leading the opposition to new coal-burning power plants planned for Nevada, where unions and the...

WASHINGTON - A bipartisan group of 26 elder statesmen is sending an open letter to both presidential candidates and every member of Congress saying that the country faces "a long-term energy crisis" that threatens the security and prosperity of future generations if swift action isn't taken. The group includes Henry Kissinger, Colin Powell, and six other former secretaries of state or defense, former senators of both parties, and a half-dozen former senior White House advisers and other Cabinet officers for both Republican and Democratic former presidents.

BUSKIRK, N.Y. - A few years ago, Kathleen Breault was just another suburban grandmother, driving countless hours every week, stopping for lunch at McDonald's , buying clothes at the mall, watching television in the evenings. That was before Breault heard an author talk about the bleak future of the world's oil supply. Now she's preparing for the world as we know it to disappear. Breault, 50, cut her driving time in half. She switched to a diet of locally grown foods near her upstate New York home and lost 70 pounds.

WASHINGTON -- Public worries about the economy have dropped since last summer, while fears about terrorism and war have been on the rise, an Associated Press poll suggests. When asked in an open-ended question in July to name the most important problems facing the United States, 9 percent mentioned war. The number almost doubled to 17 percent in an AP-Ipsos poll taken early this month. The number of people who named terrorism has grown from 14 percent to 21 percent now. The poll offers a glimpse of the nation's leading concerns as the presidential campaign intensifies between President Bush, who...

SAN FRANCISCO -- A subsidiary of Reliant Resources Inc. and four of its top-level employees were indicted yesterday on the first criminal charges accusing a company of driving up electricity prices during California's 2000-2001 energy crisis. The federal indictment alleges that Reliant Energy Services Inc. shut down four of the company's five power plants over two days in June 2000 to create a phony shortage and drive up electricity prices by $32 million. "The vast majority of corporate executives are honest, hardworking people," Attorney General John Ashcroft...

NEW YORK -- When rolling black outs roiled California in 2001, which companies based in the state rode out the energy crisis better? Large-cap stocks outside the technology sector performed almost on par with the benchmark Standard & Poor's 500 index, but small-caps underperformed the S&P 600 Small Cap index by more than double. That is the kind of analysis that Victor Canto espouses in "Cocktail Economics: Discovering Investment Truths from Everyday Conversations," a look at how to select winning asset classes based on economic cycles.

TBILISI, Georgia -- Snow and freezing temperatures yesterday deepened the misery in Georgia, where millions were without power and a natural gas shortage forced people to chop wood for heat. With the Caucasus Mountain nation suffering its worst energy crisis in years, President Mikhail Saakashvili cut short his trip to the World Economic Forum in Switzerland to try to assuage anxiety that sent residents into long lines to fill kerosene canisters for portable heaters. Some people brought jewelry and other valuables to pawn shops to...