2004 not best of times for Halliburton, EDS, El Paso

[rainbow4321]

http://www.mysanantonio.com/sharedcontent/APStories/stories/D878PMR80.html


Three of the largest Texas-based companies lost money through the first nine months of 2004, yet investors took wildly different views of Halliburton, EDS and El Paso Corp.

Halliburton Co. was in the headlines and under criminal, congressional and Pentagon investigation for its work for the U.S. government in Iraq — orders have passed the $10 billion mark. Critics questioned the awards, without bidding, to a company once led by Vice President Dick Cheney and accused the company of overcharging the government. Halliburton said in September it would consider selling the engineering and construction subsidiary, which handles the work in Iraq. Analysts said it made sense for the company to focus on its oilfield-services business. Halliburton lost $776 million in the first nine months of the year despite a 41 percent jump in revenue.


Electronic Data Systems Corp., which runs other companies' computer systems, was weighted down by a large, money-losing contract with the Navy and tougher competition in the technology-outsourcing industry that it invented 40 years ago. The chief executive caused tremors in EDS' hometown of Plano by saying the company might cut up to 20,000 jobs over the next few years.

El Paso Corp., the nation's largest natural gas pipeline company, announced in February that it had overstated its proven oil and natural gas reserves by a whopping 41 percent. While the reserves figure is just an estimate, investors view it as an indication of future earning power.

[Vidar]

1. I'm sorry about EDS. Perot was a shining light for democracy.

Dissed by the media as a nut because he said the CIA threatedned his daughter. Would poppy bush do that?

[louis-t]

3. Perot doesn't own EDS anymore,

maybe that's why they're losing money.

[Vidar]

14. Good point. I'd give even more to have CNN back in Ted Turner's hands.

[aquart]

2. Are you trying to make me believe crime doesn't pay?

Any mansions up for sale?

[BrotherBuzz]

4. Cry me a river for El Paso Corp.

Californians are still pissed at the natural-gas prices jigging back in 2000-2001! Companies created an illusion of high demand to drive up the price. One trader would buy large amounts of natural gas early in the day to drive up prices, then sell it all quickly. Sometimes two companies would conduct "wash trades," involving the simultaneous purchase and sale of the same amount of natural gas to each other at the same inflated price.

Enron, Duke, El Paso, Reliant, Dynegy, et al were all in bed together in a conspirancy to defraud the public by manipulating natural-gas prices while Bush* twiddled his thumbs.

LOL, edited after looking at the calendar.

[reprobate]

7. They may be pissed, but they still elected the austrian muscle man

It was known at the time of the campaign that the only reason he was run was that Davis would have vetoed the lowball settlement for the very same fake power costs that you mention. Gropenator's job was to get elected so as governor he *would* approve the deal. He save the criminals billions.

This was public knowledge and yet they elected him anyway. Sorry, no sympathy from me. Besides, I'm in brother jethro's state. Don't we deserve some sympathy?

[BrotherBuzz]

8. Just who is they? It sure wasn't me....

and, yes, you deserve some sympathy for residing in Florida. :)

The "They" that elected the Gropenator and let him settle or dismiss the lawsuits for pennies on the dollar doesn't prevent other entities from going after the corrupt energy companies. Here's one law suit that should prove interesting as it develops. The one thing to remember about the phony California energy crisis of 2000-2001 was that the cost of electricity was regulated, not the price of natural gas. This was the key to the scam.

Sacramento Business Journal

From the December 13, 2004 print edition

SMUD seeks $200M from 'Sham Sales'

Utility sues 25 energy firms

Celia Lamb
Staff Writer

The Sacramento Municipal Utility District has filed a lawsuit charging 25 energy companies with manipulating natural gas prices in 2001 and 2002, contributing to $200 million in extra electricity costs for SMUD and its customers.

SMUD claims the companies reported false prices and conducted "sham sales" to drive up the cost of natural gas in the state. The companies made billions of dollars of "ill-gotten gains" in violation of California's antitrust law, the suit says.

"Our ratepayers paid through the nose," said SMUD assistant general counsel Steve Cohn. "We had a roughly 20 percent rate increase three years ago, and we're trying to recover some of those costs.

"We want to recover as much as possible," he added. "We don't anticipate we'll get all $200 million back, but hopefully we'll get a significant portion. I don't want to say we'll reduce rates, but it certainly will help moderate future rate increases."

The suit was filed Nov. 19 in Sacramento County Superior Court. SMUD charged the energy companies with violating the Cartwright Act (the state's anti-trust law) and unjust enrichment.

SMUD is the only plaintiff in the local case, but the suit could be combined with similar cases brought by other public agencies in California, including San Francisco and San Diego counties and the University of California. A Burlingame law firm, Cotchett, Pitre, Simon & McCarthy, is working with the plaintiffs in all of those cases.

SMUD's suit names 25 companies as defendants, including major national energy companies such as Reliant Energy Inc., Duke Energy Corp., and Dynegy Inc..

(El Paso Corp. is mentioned in another part of the article)

<more>


http://tinyurl.com/638yf

[leesa]

12. Remember, the media is RW owned and BOTH states have been victims

of widespread low-level voter fraud. Ahhhnode was installed.

[Trillo]

5. Halliburton money woes:

I just don't believe it. They're likely fudging the figures, otherwise known as creative accounting. Yeah, 41% jump in revenue, yet a loss? Revenue must not be what average people think it is.

Didn't Enron have good "revenue" shortly before the fraud boil popped?

[Ian David]

6. My guess is the company is being looted

[diamond14]

9. my guess is that $ BILLIONS are being handled 'off the books'

their Iraqi operation is practically money laundering...where BILLIONS go straight from the U.S. Treasury, and then directly into halliburton's pockets, with absolutely no work or services provided....halliburton has many times said 'it's real hard to keep track of every single nickle and dime in a war zone' and Congress said OK and there's little being done about the halliburton looting of the U.S. Treasury....$ BILLIONS are just DISAPPEARING...and it will never show up in a stockholders report....halliburton thieves are NOT STUPID...they've done this before...

[MSgt213]

10. All these companies were woeful unprepared for what they got themselves

into. Halliburton? Dick Cheney screwed this company very nicely before he bought his incompetence to Washington.

EDS? Sorry but the contract they got with the Navy was a sweet heart deal that was doomed from the get go. Admirals were trying to get those clowns off their bases because they were screwing up the systems that the Sailors and government civilians had set up and which was working.

El Paso? Who gives a shit.

[Califooyah Operative]

11. good for halliburton. I hope 2005 is worse. nt

[HR_Pufnstuf]

13. POOR babies...

geez really a bad year???, actually...

Look at what Wall St thought,


HAL vs EP - 1 YR CHART
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?s=HAL&t=1y&l=on&z=m&q=l&c=

- HAL stock price up 47% in 2004. (Click on the 2 yr chart, and see that HAL's stock has almost doubled since Iraq War started 3/03.

- EP stock price up 33% in 2004.



EDS VS NYSE - 1 YR CHART
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?t=1y&s=EDS&l=on&z=m&q=l&c=&c=%5EDJI

- EDS stock price down 4% in 2004. Only company to go down of the 3.

- NYSE up 5% in 2004.