Financing
Lessons in loaning
Lenders and borrowers alike are becoming ever more innovative at a worrying time for energy company financing. But will the new ideas catch on? Paul Lyon reports
Own, sell or restructure
UK and US utilities are presently saddled with a lot of debt, thanks to overcapacity and low power prices. But what’s the best way for these firms to deal with the power plants they don’t need? By Jessica McCallin
Delaying the inevitable?
As Reliant Resources celebrates a $6.2 billion refinancing deal, some in the industry say such deals are merely postponing problems that are bound to resurface. James Ockenden reports
Bearing the brunt
Building contractor bankruptcies of have recently stressed the credit profiles of several power projects in the US. Standard & Poor’s Scott Taylor and Tobias Hsieh look at how sponsors and lenders responded and the effects on the various parties
Credit watch
In this month’s analysis of energy firms’ credit quality via Riskmetrics’ CreditGrades tool, Williams and El Paso are among those with tighter spreads
Clearer waters for ratings
Despite a credit ratings crisis in the energy markets, the prognosis for natural gas companies looks stable, finds Shifa Rahman
High oil and gas prices enhancing credit quality
The ‘war premium’ is propping up oil and gas prices and oil firms’ balance sheets. But debt levels and quality of assets are still king. Catherine Lacoursière reports
Setting a new pace
‘Broken records and shattered dreams’ was the headline for last year’s exchange review – but it could easily have been appropriate for this year’s. Certain exchanges have reported stellar growth, while others are suffering, for various reasons. By Joel…