Deal for Use of Gas Pipeline Stirs Dispute on Competition
The New York Times, 03/26/01

Sale of Enron Unit To Sierra Pacific Becomes Unlikely
The Wall Street Journal, 03/26/01

Backing Bush Pays Off for Coal Industry Energy: Mineral is seen as key to
halting power crisis. Officials also target pending regulatory rules.
Los Angeles Times, 03/26/01
Abreast of the Market
Hunting for Signs That Stocks Are Bottoming
The Wall Street Journal, 03/26/01
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The Globe and Mail, 03/26/01

USA: Enron's deal to sell Portland General seen dead-WSJ.
Reuters English News Service, 03/26/01

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Business/Financial Desk; Section A
Deal for Use of Gas Pipeline Stirs Dispute on Competition
By RICHARD A. OPPEL Jr. and LOWELL BERGMAN

03/26/2001
The New York Times
Page 1, Column 4
c. 2001 New York Times Company

Early last year, the El Paso Natural Gas Company took bids from two dozen
companies for the right to ship enough natural gas through its pipeline from
Texas and New Mexico to meet one-sixth of the daily demand of energy-starved
California.
The winner: El Paso's sister company, the El Paso Merchant Energy Company,
which buys, sells and trades natural gas. The bidding was not close. El Paso
Merchant offered twice as much for the capacity as the other companies bid,
in total, for bits and pieces.
Why pay so much more? California officials, who are pressing a complaint
against El Paso at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, say the answer
is simple. The state contends that El Paso Merchant, with help from its
sister company, saw the transaction as a way to manipulate the price of
natural gas by using its control of pipeline capacity.
According to sealed documents obtained by The New York Times that are part of
filings in the federal case, executives at El Paso Merchant said internally
that the deal would give them ''more control'' of gas markets, including the
''ability to influence the physical market'' to benefit the company's
financial positions.
El Paso executives called the accusations fanciful, and in a formal response
to California's complaint, said the state ''grossly distorted'' company
documents by quoting words and phrases out of context.
The dispute opens a window on an important debate about oversight of the
natural gas industry, which fuels a growing share of the nation's electric
power plants.
At issue is whether current safeguards do enough to prevent anticompetitive
abuses in the marketing and trading of natural gas, and whether federal
regulators adequately enforce existing rules. In particular, many industry
officials question whether regulated pipeline companies are able to favor
unregulated sister companies that trade natural gas and are free to maximize
profits.
More than 200,000 miles of interstate pipelines crisscross the country,
moving natural gas from Canada, the Southwest and other producing regions to
fuel factories, power utilities and heat houses.
Not long ago, many parts of the country had excess pipeline capacity. But
experts say that several regions, including California, New York and New
England, now face constraints as demand soars for gas to fuel power plants.
In California, state officials and utility executives said the documents in
the federal case, and El Paso's actions, were proof that the state's energy
crisis stemmed not just from an ill-conceived deregulation plan but from
price manipulation and profiteering.
''They are the market maker with this pipeline,'' said Loretta Lynch, the
president of the California Public Utilities Commission, which has struggled
to cope with skyrocketing power prices and supply shortages.
El Paso ''sets the price in California,'' Ms. Lynch said, and what it did was
intentional. ''It has affected the price,'' she said, ''for everything
related to heat and electrical power prices in the state.''
California's complaint to the federal agency contends that El Paso Merchant
''has hoarded capacity and refused to attractively price unused capacity'' on
the pipeline. The state also charges that El Paso Natural Gas, the pipeline's
owner, has had no incentive to spur competition, by offering discounts to
other users, because the two companies are corporate siblings. The state said
that El Paso had violated federal natural gas statutes that prohibit
anticompetitive behavior.
The sealed filings in the El Paso case indicated that the company expected to
make money by widening the ''basis spread'' -- the difference between what
gas can be bought for in producing basins of Texas and New Mexico, at one end
of the pipeline, and its price on delivery to Southern California.
As it turned out, spreads widened enormously over the last year as the price
of gas soared in California, adding to costs for wholesale electricity that
pushed the biggest utilities near bankruptcy. California utilities paid $6.2
billion above competitive prices for wholesale electricity over the last 10
months, state officials estimated. The utilities are not allowed to recoup
the costs from customers. While the cost of 1,000 cubic feet of gas typically
is less than $1 higher at the California end of the pipeline, spot prices in
the state rose to almost $50 more than the Texas-New Mexico price in
December.
To executives of the parent company, the El Paso Corporation, the accusations
of market manipulation are ludicrous.
High gas prices in California, El Paso executives said in interviews, are
easily explained by soaring demand, the poor credit standing of the state's
utilities and the failure of the utilities to retain pipeline capacity or
store enough gas for winter.
''The idea that anybody is holding back on California is really ridiculous,''
said Clark C. Smith, president of El Paso Merchant's operations in North
America.
Some El Paso customers, though, agreed with California officials. The Pacific
Gas & Electric Company, the San Francisco-based utility, condemned El Paso in
a filing with the federal agency after its lawyers reviewed the sealed
company documents.
''It is now very clear from the business records of El Paso Energy
Corporation,'' the utility said in the filing, ''that the business strategy
El Paso Merchant was authorized at the highest corporate levels to pursue
involved manipulation of price spreads.''
The agency has not ruled on California's complaint, which asks that the deal
between El Paso Natural Gas and El Paso Merchant be invalidated. Based on the
agency's history of policing energy providers lightly, many industry
observers predicted that the complaint would be dismissed, perhaps as soon as
the agency's public meeting on Wednesday.
Nonetheless, El Paso Merchant is feeling some pressure. The subsidiary said
recently that it planned to relinquish control of all but about 22 percent of
the capacity on the pipeline to California, rather than exercise an option
that would have allowed it to retain the entire capacity of 1.2 billion cubic
feet of gas a day.
Critics said they believed El Paso made the move in hopes of lessening the
chance of government action. El Paso executives deny that but do say that
their decision was influenced by the backlash over the arrangement.
Surrendering the pipeline capacity made for a ''gut-wrenching'' decision, Mr.
Smith said, but was ''a first-class gesture'' to California. El Paso Merchant
paid $38.5 million to control the pipeline capacity from March 1, 2000, until
May 31, 2001. While Mr. Clark said he did not know the return on that
investment, he acknowledged that it was lucrative.
''No doubt about it,'' Mr. Clark said, ''we made good money.''
The question of whether El Paso's conduct has driven gas prices higher is
expected to be scrutinized by legislators in Sacramento this week. The
company also faces several lawsuits, including one by the city of Los
Angeles, that accuse it of conspiring with other companies to prevent
pipeline projects that could have eased California's energy crisis. El Paso
denied the accusation.
With pipeline capacity and gas supplies tighter, concerns about
anticompetitive behavior have increased as price volatility has created
soaring profits for energy marketers and traders.
Dynegy Inc., a Houston-based energy trader, was once the target of complaints
to federal regulators that it had artificially raised prices by abusing
capacity that it controlled on El Paso's pipeline to California.
In a filing with regulators in January, Dynegy contended that pipeline
companies routinely favored affiliates. ''Abuses abound because of financial
windfalls, difficulty of detection, lengthy investigations and increased
complexity of the market,'' the company said.
''There are some red flags right now,'' said William L. Massey, a member of
the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission since 1993. Mr. Massey said he was
troubled by the potential for abuses when pipeline companies own gas and
power marketing subsidiaries as well as electric plants fueled by natural
gas. El Paso is in all those businesses.
''What the commission ought to be serious about is: What are the forces at
work? Is it simply robust markets responding to true supply-and-demand
signals, or is it a market defined by market power and some measure of
affiliate abuse?'' he said.
Many in the industry do not believe changes are needed.
''There are rules in place today that protect against affiliate abuse,'' said
Stanley Horton, chief executive for gas pipeline operations at the Enron
Corporation and chairman of the Interstate Natural Gas Association of
America, the industry's trade group, referring to the rules under which
California has brought its complaint about El Paso.
To its critics, El Paso epitomizes the competitive concerns. It operates the
nation's largest network of interstate pipelines and owns one of the largest
reserves of natural gas. With its recent acquisition of the Coastal
Corporation, another large pipeline operator, El Paso has a market
capitalization of $32 billion.
At a conference at El Paso headquarters in Houston in February, analysts
heard executives predict net profits of $1.7 billion this year. El Paso's
much better known rival, Enron, with its headquarters a few blocks away, is
expected to earn about $1.4 billion.
El Paso Merchant provides the strongest growth. Two years ago, the unit's
profits, before interest payments and taxes, were $99 million; this year, it
is expected to have $700 million in North America alone. In its latest
quarterly report, El Paso attributed those profits, in part, to ''commodity
market and trading margins'' that were enhanced by ''power price volatility,
particularly in the Western United States.''
Critics contend that El Paso set out to exploit those conditions. According
to the sealed filings, on Feb. 14, 2000, the day before El Paso Merchant was
awarded the pipeline capacity, executives made a presentation to William A.
Wise, chief executive of the parent company, laying out the rationale for the
bid.
The presentation outlined what it termed ''strategic advantages,'' including
''more control of total physical markets'' and the ''ability to influence the
physical market to the benefit of any financial/hedge position,'' according
to the sealed filings. The passages suggested that El Paso expected the deal
to give it sway over the market for trading actual volumes of gas and to
support financial transactions it had entered into with other parties to
limit its risk.
For every one-cent increase in the spread on gas prices, the presentation
said, El Paso Merchant stood to make an additional $2.4 million.
Under the heading ''Challenges,'' according to the sealed filings, the
presentation stated that storage was needed ''to help manipulate physical
spreads, adding to the overall transport/storage cost.''
On April 14, according to the sealed filings, El Paso Merchant's president at
the time, Greg G. Jenkins, wrote a memorandum to Mr. Wise involving an update
for directors meeting later that month. The memorandum stated: ''We will make
money two ways: 1) increase the load factor, 2) widen the basis spread.''
The language appears to suggest that El Paso Merchant would profit by
increasing the gas flow in the pipeline -- the load factor -- while
increasing the difference between what gas could be bought for at one end and
what it could be sold for at the other end -- the basis spread.
In an interview, Mr. Smith, the El Paso Merchant executive, said that the
unit's prices, and profits, on bulk gas sales in California were locked in
months in advance, so that the company could not benefit from rising prices
in the spot market.
Otherwise, Mr. Smith declined to provide any details about money made on the
pipeline deal or about financial terms of the transactions that locked in
prices ahead of time. In addition, Mr. Smith said that nearly all of El Paso
Merchant's pipeline capacity was used every day when prices spiked late last
year, with no capacity withheld to increase prices.
The company did not respond last week to a request to discuss information in
the sealed documents. But El Paso Merchant, in a filing with federal
regulators, said California's complaint had ''misconstrued and incorrectly
interpreted'' what it termed ''snippets of data.''
About This Report
This article and others on California's energy problems are part of a joint
effort with the PBS series ''Frontline'' that will result in a documentary
later this year.

Photo: The El Paso Natural Gas pipeline passes near Topock, Ariz. A dispute
over bidding for its use has spurred a debate about oversight of the
industry. (John Gurzinski for The New York Times)(pg. A17) Chart: ''Boom
Times'' Operating revenue and net income soared last year at the El Paso
Corpor 2/3ation, which sells, transports and trades natural gas. Graphs of
the operating revenue and the net income for the El Paso Corporation.
(Source: Company reports)(pg. A17) Chart: ''A Spike in Prices'' The spot
price for natural gas produced in the Permian Basin of West Texas doubled
last year. But the price that power generators paid when the gas was
delivered to Southern California rose almost 10-fold. State regulators say
the gap is evidence of market manipulation. Graph showing the spot price of
gas delivered to Southern California and the spot price of gas bought in the
Permian Basin, from September to March. (Source: Gas Daily)(pg. A17)

Copyright , 2000 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Marketing & Media
Sale of Enron Unit To Sierra Pacific Becomes Unlikely
By Rebecca Smith
Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal

03/26/2001
The Wall Street Journal
B10
(Copyright (c) 2001, Dow Jones & Company, Inc.)

Enron Corp.'s $2 billion agreement to sell its Portland General Electric unit
to Sierra Pacific Resources may be the latest casualty of the energy crisis
spreading across the Western part of the U.S.
There is only a "5% probability" that the sale will go through, Enron's chief
executive, Jeffrey Skilling, said Friday. Sierra Pacific has been unable to
sell its interest in certain generating assets, which it needed to do to
complete the purchase from the Houston-based energy and trading company.
Sierra Pacific agreed in November 1999 to buy Portland General for $2 billion
and the assumption of $1 billion of debt.
Confirmation that the deal was in trouble didn't come as a surprise to
investors because the financial picture has changed considerably as the
West's power problems have become more acute. When the pact was announced,
the companies said they expected a transaction to take place by mid-2000.
Sierra Pacific has been hurt by rising energy costs, which resulted in a
financial setback last year. Sierra, Reno, Nev., which operates two Nevada
utilities, said it incurred an unanticipated expense of $889 million in 2000
to purchase fuel and electricity on the open market. That produced a full
year 2000 loss of $39.8 million, or 51 cents a share. On Friday, the company
couldn't be reached for comment about its plans.
Mr. Skilling said he's "not in a particular rush" to sell Portland General,
which Enron acquired in 1996, although he said he would like to put the money
to work in higher-profit businesses. There are "several billion dollars worth
of assets" that Enron will sell "in the next few years" in its quest to
maximize its returns, he said.
Mr. Skilling, in an effort to quell worries that spurred a recent selloff in
the firm's stock, said Enron is moving more heavily into the trading of
liquified natural gas and is considering exercising options to acquire three
LNG vessels as well as to develop LNG gasification facilities in the Bahamas
and Venezuela. He said Enron Online, the firm's Internet-based trading
platform, soon will begin trading LNG contracts, as well.
The recent stock-price decline stemmed from jitters about Enron's plans for
its broadband business. The company, which pioneered the trading of
telecommunications bandwidth, plans to cut capital spending on its
fiber-optics network to about $250 million this year from an earlier
estimated budget of $750 million, Mr. Skilling said. He said the company has
found it can acquire much of the telecommunications capacity it needs to
expand its businesses through contracts with other owners rather than by
building additional network capacity, itself.
Mr. Skilling said Enron is reassigning some employees within the company, but
he denied speculation that Enron is planning layoffs in the broadband unit.
He said Enron is constantly shifting people around to meet the company's
growth needs.
Mr. Skilling said he still expects Enron to earn $1.70 to $1.75 per share
this year and said it was "crazy" that the company's stock has slid from
about $80 per share in early February to about $55 late last week. In 4 p.m.
Friday New York Stock Exchange composite trading, Enron rose $4.38, or 8%, to
$59.40. He said Enron's "core businesses" all are in "great shape." Despite
the fact California's utilities aren't paying their bills, Enron's credit
exposure in that state is declining, he said.

Copyright , 2000 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

National Desk
Backing Bush Pays Off for Coal Industry Energy: Mineral is seen as key to
halting power crisis. Officials also target pending regulatory rules.
From the Washington Post

03/26/2001
Los Angeles Times
Home Edition
A-10
Copyright 2001 / The Times Mirror Company

WASHINGTON -- In the last election, few businesses placed as big a bet on
Republicans as the coal industry, which gave 88 cents out of every dollar in
campaign contributions to GOP candidates or organizations. Two months into
the Bush administration, that wager has begun to pay off.
President Bush has jettisoned a campaign promise to require coal-burning
power plants to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide, after heeding industry
warnings that such action could "kill coal." Now, industry officials who
worked for last week's Environmental Protection Agency decision to revoke a
Clinton administration crackdown on arsenic in drinking water are taking aim
at more than two dozen pending rules regulating substances from coal mine
dust and ozone to diesel particulates.
In the GOP-controlled Congress, lobbyists for coal companies, railroads and
electric utilities are mobilizing behind tax credits, subsidies and
regulatory exemptions for coal-burning utilities.
The emergence of coal from the political shadows is due in part to Bush's
conviction that the mineral, which is used to generate half the nation's
electricity, is crucial to preventing the spread of California's energy
crisis.
Coal's new strength also rests on the enhanced influence, in the aftermath of
last year's election, of a network of interests, such as electric utilities
and railroads, that strongly oppose lessening the country's dependence on
coal.
Meanwhile, coal, rail and power companies such as Peabody Holdings Inc.,
Burlington Northern Santa Fe and the Southern Co. provided funding last year
to start Americans for Balanced Energy Choices to develop grass-roots support
for coal.
"The market realities have changed, and the political dynamics have changed
in Washington," said the group's president, Steve Miller, a Democrat who was
Bill Clinton's campaign organizational chairman in Kentucky in 1992. "People
have no idea of the environmental improvement the coal industry has made."
To get that message across, Americans for Balanced Energy Choices has set up
a Web site and prepared a media advertising budget of several million dollars
to finance what Miller says will be "a longtime conversation with opinion
leaders across the country."
Electric utilities and their executives and employees last year gave $18.4
million to candidates and parties, of which $12.4 million went to
Republicans, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a campaign
research group. Southern Co., one of the nation's largest coal-burning power
producers, opposes the Kyoto, Japan, protocol, under which signatory nations,
including the United States, agreed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to
1990 levels. The Senate has never ratified the agreement.
In the House, Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas), chairman of the subcommittee with
jurisdiction over clean air and energy, has vowed that legislation containing
such restrictions will "never" pass through his panel.
The chief executive of the Enron Corp. energy company, Kenneth Lay, one of
Bush's most generous campaign supporters, has urged the president to create a
trading system for carbon as a way of limiting emissions into the atmosphere.
But Lay was not given advance notice of Bush's decision ruling out mandatory
carbon controls, sources said.
A spokesman said Lay was "somewhat disappointed that we don't have a process
in place to deal with what he thinks is going to be a significant issue."

Copyright , 2000 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Abreast of the Market
Hunting for Signs That Stocks Are Bottoming
By E.S. Browning
Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal

03/26/2001
The Wall Street Journal
C1
(Copyright (c) 2001, Dow Jones & Company, Inc.)

It sounds like the latest gimmicky TV show: "Looking for the Bottom."
But that search is what is most on the minds of investors and stock-market
analysts today, after the Dow Jones Industrial Average dived for most of last
week and then, finally, rebounded Friday. The beaten-up Nasdaq Composite
Index, meanwhile, was able actually to scrape out an "up" week.
Longtime market watchers say there are telltale signs to look for, signaling
a market bottom. The problem is that different market declines end in
different ways.
"Some market bottoms are quiet and some are violent," notes analyst Sam Burns
of market-research group Ned Davis Research, in Venice, Fla. "The signals
aren't always consistent." The trick, he says, is to figure out which set of
signals apply to the market at hand.
In 1987, for example, the downturn ended with a crash, a one-day collapse of
22.6% in the Dow industrials, after which the worst was over. It was what
analysts call an extreme case of "capitulation," or the massive selling of
stocks by investors who suddenly fell out of love with them.
But then there are the examples of 1974, 1982 and 1990. "Those bear markets
died with a whimper, not a bang," says Steve Leuthold, chairman of
money-management firm Leuthold Group in Minneapolis. The selling just
gradually dried up, and one day, stocks turned around and started up again.
Mr. Leuthold says you can make some sense out of the seeming contradictions
by dividing bear markets into two varieties: those that are caused by
economic downturns and those that occur at other times.
"You get V-shaped bottoms typically when it is a noneconomic bear market, a
bear market that isn't related to a recession, the kind of thing we saw in
1987 and 1998," he says, referring in the latter case to the Russia-spurred
declines that left the industrials just shy of a bear-market drop by strict
definition. "But if you have a recession related to it, which I think is what
we have in this case, it takes a while. There is a base building and you have
the bear market kind of die with a whimper."
But if the current decline is going to end gradually and recover more slowly,
how will investors know that the worst is over? Messrs. Leuthold and Burns
and other market analysts have put together a group of signs they look for in
markets such as this one. Those include the levels of the price-to-earnings
ratios of the major indexes, the number of months since the economic downturn
began, and the tendency of major indexes to fall back and "retest" their lows
after they hit bottom.
All of these measures suggest that stocks could be at the beginning of a
bottom-building process now, these experts say. But, because "no one rings a
bell at the bottom," as Mr. Leuthold puts it, there isn't any guarantee that
the market won't fall somewhat farther before it finally hits bottom. Even if
the bottom is occurring right now, it could be weeks, or months, or longer,
before stocks begin any strong, lasting rally.
There certainly was plenty in last week's market activity to make the
optimists hope they were seeing a bottom. In less than three days, from their
intraday high on Tuesday through their intraday low on Thursday, the Dow
industrials fell 9.1%, or 913.40 points, to 9106.54. That pullback left the
index, for a few hours, down 22.8% from its record close of 11722.98, hit on
Jan. 14 of last year.
If the index had closed at that level, the industrials would have been
considered, by the most common definition of a 20% drop from a closing high,
to be in a bear market. But suddenly, about 80 minutes before Thursday's
close, the nosedive ended. By the end of the day Friday, when the index rose
115.30, it was 18.9% off the record, still outside bear-market territory by a
statistical hair.
It still was a painful week, with the industrials finishing down 3.2%, or
318.63 points for the week, at 9504.78. The fact that the selling finally
broadened out to the blue chips is being cited by some analysts as one more
sign that the selloff could be nearing its end. The Nasdaq composite, which
had taken the brunt of the selling for months, was able to advance last week
-- up 2%, or 37.77 points, to 1928.68 (on Friday it gained 30.98).
How likely is it that last week marked the bottom? One way to gauge that, Mr.
Leuthold says, is that stocks tend to bottom out halfway through an economic
slowdown. He thinks the economy began its slump in December, adding that the
average recession since World War II has lasted 11 months. If this decline
lasts that long, stocks might start to recover in May or June. If the
downturn is shorter, the recovery can come sooner, and vice versa.
Another measure that Mr. Leuthold looks at is valuation. In times of serious
economic decline, following periods of sharp inflation and high interest
rates, major stock indexes have fallen to the point that they were trading at
seven or eight times their stocks' earnings for the past 12 months. But in
times of less severe economic turmoil, such as the present, the indexes have
tended to fall to around 15 times trailing earnings.
This time, the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index still trades at about 22
times trailing earnings, but a broader group of 3,000 stocks that Mr.
Leuthold tracks trades at a median of only about 14 times earnings. That
makes him believe that many stocks are close to a bottom now. (He thinks that
the S&P 500 may never actually fall to a P/E of 15, because of the way its
makeup has been revised over the past few years.)
Stock strategist Thomas McManus of Banc of America Securities, for his part,
likes to look at indicators of investor "sentiment," which track whether
people are feeling bullish or bearish. The Market Vane indicator, which
measures the advice given by professional investment advisers, currently
shows that only 19% are bullish on S&P 500 futures, an unusually low level of
bullishness. When investor sentiment is that negative, many analysts believe,
stocks can begin to recover, because most of the selling already has run its
course.
A number of formerly bearish investors have turned bullish in the past few
weeks, believing that a bottom is at hand. Mr. Leuthold is one -- he even is
beginning to think that some technology stocks, notably semiconductor stocks,
may have fallen far enough to be cheap.
Another recently minted optimist is Robert Morris, chief investment officer
at Jersey City, N.J., fund-management group Lord Abbett, who until last year
considered technology stocks in particular to be greatly overvalued. He
points out that, in the past, stocks have tended to move up 25% in the 12
months after a third successive Federal Reserve rate cut. On top of that, his
models separately show the S&P 500 and the Dow industrials so undervalued
that they could rise as much as 25% in the next 12 months.
"We may bounce around for a while, but now we have a reason to own stocks
again," Mr. Morris says. He adds that one last indicator is a sign that bank
stocks -- very sensitive now to worries about bad debt -- have begun to
recover. "Once the market buys that and confirms it with better relative
strength for the banks, we will be ready to go," he says.
Many analysts think that it could still be some time before a true rally
kicks in. The market could go through a protracted period of consolidating
and retesting its lows. "That means that you don't have to be in a hurry to
buy right at the bottom; you have some time," Mr. Burns says.
---
Friday's Market Activity
Stocks turned higher across the board as a rough week for blue chips ended on
a positive note.
The big gains came out of some of the banking and brokerage-firm issues that
sold off earlier in the week as the market's fortunes worsened. Shares of
J.P. Morgan Chase added $2.80 to $41.71, Citigroup rose 2.25 to 42.85, and
Bank of America moved ahead 3.11 to 52.78.
Goldman Sachs Group improved 3.90 to 89.81, Merrill Lynch tacked on 3.25 to
57.70, and Lehman Brothers Holdings gained 2.55 to 67.35.
Shares of Applied Materials advanced 81 cents to 50.25 in Nasdaq Stock Market
trading, after the semiconductor-gear maker affirmed the company's
second-quarter outlook for revenue and earnings. That helped dispel some of
the doubt about capital spending in technology products and equipment that
has been at the heart of the market's recent distress.
Motorola also made progress, adding 31 cents to 15.99, after the cellphone
and chip manufacturer announced plans to cut jobs to further reduce its
costs.
Shares of Tibco Software, which came into the session off the 52-week low of
7.22 reached Thursday, climbed 2.41 to 10.44 on Nasdaq, after the
enterprise-software producer posted fiscal first-quarter earnings that beat
analysts' lowered estimates.
The industrial average also got a big push from its software and
personal-computer makers. The groups started to rally Thursday on talk from
chip manufacturer Micron Technology that some of the inventory problems in
the supply chain had been alleviated. Microsoft advanced 2.56 to 56.56 in
Nasdaq trading, while International Business Machines climbed 4.58 to 93.68.
Micron, which rose 11% Thursday, tacked on 2.13 to 48.83 Friday.
Nokia gained 1.46 to 26.46. The Finnish handset maker said it will buy back
as many as 50 million shares of its stock.
Quest Diagnostics rose 3.88 to 82.92, while Laboratory Corp. of America
improved 7.18 to 119. Thomas Weisel Partners started coverage of several of
the companies that provide laboratory testing services, including these
names.
Gemstar International added 6.25 to 35.19 on Nasdaq. The Pasadena, Calif.,
provider of electronic-program guides and video-recording systems agreed to
provide interactive television services to Comcast Cable's Comcast Cable
Communications subscribers. Comcast, King of Prussia, Pa., eased 1.81 to
38.69 in Nasdaq trading.
Nucor lost 81 cents to 40.46. The Charlotte, N.C., metals and mining concern
reduced its first-quarter earnings expectations, citing a weak pricing
environment for steel products and what it called "relatively flat" sales
volume.
Immunex slid 7.38 to 11.50 on Nasdaq, slumping to a 52-week low. The Seattle
biopharmaceuticals developer stopped its late-stage clinical trials on
patients who suffer chronic heart failure. Were the tests to have been
successful, Immunex could have doubled the market for its blockbuster drug,
Enbrel, which is used to treat patients with rheumatoid arthritis. American
Home Products, which owns 41% of Immunex, declined 1.10 to 54.40.
Enron gained 4.38 to 59.40. The energy provider and commodities trader perked
up following losses this week after company officials, on a conference call
with investors, reiterated the Houston concern's existing earnings forecasts.
New York Stock Exchange volume totaled 1,360,250,410 shares, compared with
1,723,955,410 Thursday.
-- Robert O'Brien

Copyright , 2000 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Entertainment + Technology (A Special Report)
It's About Time: A growing number of services let viewers pick what they want
to watch, when they want to watch it
By Martin Peers

03/26/2001
The Wall Street Journal
R14
(Copyright (c) 2001, Dow Jones & Company, Inc.)

When Christopher Lindsell wants to watch a movie nowadays, the 29-year-old
Cincinnati research scientist plops down on his couch with his wife and son
and checks out Intertainer.TV, a new entertainment service available via
computer.
With Intertainer, Mr. Lindsell can order a movie in advance, watch it when he
wants and even pause it while he gets more snacks -- all with a click of the
mouse.
"We really like the convenience," says Mr. Lindsell. "We like the ability to
click a few buttons, see a preview, see a brief description. We have children
in the household, so we like to see whether it contains adult content. We can
then sit down as a family. [We] don't have to plan ahead."
Mr. Lindsell is one of about 2,400 people in the Cincinnati area able to
order movies or television shows from Intertainer, which delivers programming
via souped-up telephone lines or digital cable through the computer to the TV
set. Viewers can order everything from editions of "Meet the Press" or "NBC
Nightly News" an hour after they're aired to recently released movies such as
"Gladiator" and older films, for prices ranging from 75 cents to $3.99. The
programs run like they're in a videocassette recorder: Viewers can stop,
start and rewind them as much as they want within 24 hours of the initial
order.
Intertainer is one of a number of emerging electronic-entertainment services
that allow consumers to order movies and TV shows and watch them at their
leisure. But Intertainer Inc.'s service has a head start in getting
programming. The Culver City, Calif., company has signed long-term supply
deals with several Hollywood studios, such as the Warner Brothers unit of AOL
Time Warner Inc. and Vivendi Universal SA's Universal Pictures, while its
rivals are still in negotiations on such deals. Intertainer also has deals
for TV programming from General Electric Co.'s NBC, as well as several cable
networks such as Discovery Channel and A&E Television Networks, which
includes the History Channel and the Biography Channel.
Intertainer is a closely held company whose investors include its founders,
Chairman Richard Baskin and Chief Executive Jonathan Taplin, as well as big
companies like Microsoft Corp., Intel Corp., Comcast Corp. and NBC.
Right now, Intertainer is available only to a small number of people in
Cincinnati, through Internet-access company Zoomtown.com, a unit of Broadwing
Inc., a telecommunications concern based in Cincinnati. But Intertainer
expects the service to be available in many more major markets over the next
few months.
The service is similar in some ways to the pay-per-view options offered on
cable or satellite-TV systems, giving consumers the ability to pick a movie
they want to watch for a fee. Pay-per-view, however, offers only a few movies
at fixed times, whereas Intertainer allows consumers to scroll through a list
of several hundred movies or TV shows and order one immediately.
Intertainer isn't offered over the Internet, like many of the other services
such as SightSound.com from SightSound Technologies of Mount Lebanon, Pa. The
company decided against making its service available on the Internet largely
to ensure its movies and TV shows had the best picture quality and because of
concerns from the major Hollywood studios over rampant illegal copying on the
Web.
Instead, the company sends its signals over private computer networks,
connecting to homes either by high-speed phone lines known as digital
subscriber lines or by digital cable. Consumers can buy a device that
switches the signal from their computer to their TV set. Intertainer has a
Web site that offers music videos and movie trailers to promote the main
service, and allows for some e-commerce opportunities, like selling albums.
Customers getting Intertainer through DSL, currently the most common way to
get the service, usually would log onto Intertainer through their computer,
clicking on an Intertainer icon on the DSL provider's home Web page that gets
them into a private computer network. After typing in a password, customers
first choose a movie genre (comedies, dramas, action) and then pick a film in
that genre. Consumers find the movie they want to watch, order with a click
of a mouse and get billed either through their credit card or their DSL
provider. (Cable operators would likely make Intertainer available as an
added feature of digital cable, available through a set-top box with remote
control.)
For encrypting and playing programming, Intertainer is using Microsoft's
Windows Media software. The software giant also will integrate the service in
its Microsoft TV software, which is being put in set-top boxes for
interactive-TV services of some cable and satellite-TV operators. That
integration makes it easier for these companies to offer Intertainer.
Supplementing revenue from movie and TV orders, Intertainer aims to generate
one-third of its revenue from advertising and e-commerce. The Web site allows
consumers to play a music video and then click onto a site selling the
related album. Intertainer also has interactive features built into some of
its advertising, enabling viewers to get information and make a purchase.
While consumers who have used Intertainer or other movies-on-demand services
are enthusiastic, there are still big hurdles to overcome before the services
are widely available.
Intertainer is facing plenty of competition, both on and off the Web. Cable
operators like AOL Time Warner and Cox Communications Inc. are planning to
offer their own service. Some of the Hollywood studios are planning to launch
their own Web-based services, while some independent Web concerns are
offering movies on demand, although with a very limited number of movies.
But Intertainer is ahead of most of its rivals when it comes to programming.
Most cable operators are still negotiating long-term deals. And the
independent Web-based services are finding it difficult to get movies from
major studios because of worries about illegal copying. Programming's
importance was highlighted earlier this month when another potential rival, a
joint venture of Blockbuster Inc. and Enron Corp., abandoned its efforts
because of Blockbuster's difficulty in negotiating movie-supply deals.
Meanwhile, Intertainer currently offers about 300 movies and 25 different
types of TV shows at any one time, though its programming deals give it
access to between 8,000 and 10,000 movies. However, making all the movies
available simultaneously would be prohibitively expensive. Intertainer
expects new computer-network designs and the declining cost of data storage
will enable it to increase the number of movies offered at the same time
within a couple of years.
Also putting a crimp on movies-on-demand services' offerings are major
Hollywood studios. Because of concerns of illegal copying, the studios have
been reluctant to provide movies and shows. Avoiding the Internet altogether
has helped Intertainer get more programming, but it has forced the company to
rely on phone companies or cable operators to offer its service. And most of
the programming available on Intertainer is at least several months old,
reflecting Hollywood's desire not to threaten the mountains of revenue they
get from video rental chains by giving Intertainer movies before they're
offered on video.
As a result, Intertainer -- like other movies-on-demand services -- doesn't
offer movies until after they've been in the video stores. That is likely to
reduce the number of orders for Intertainer, which gives an undisclosed share
of its program fee to its entertainment providers. Mr. Lindsell, for
instance, says his family also rents movies from video-rental stores but
would use Intertainer as his "primary source" once the service has "more
diverse product" available.
Agreements with cable networks licensing their shows to Intertainer come with
similar caveats. When A&E Television Networks agreed in January to provide
programming to Intertainer, David Zagin, senior vice president of affiliate
sales, says the deal was limited to older titles in the company's library --
which could be anywhere from a few months to a few years old. Offering newly
aired programs for Intertainer's on-demand service could reduce the need for
consumers to watch the networks on cable.
"We never want to give people the impression you don't have to have A&E and
History" on cable, Mr. Zagin says. A&E is owned by Walt Disney Co., Hearst
Corp. and NBC.
Discovery Networks has a similar stance. Discovery, a unit of Discovery
Communications Inc. of Bethesda, Md., supplies "library" products, shows
roughly six months old, from its networks, which include Discovery Channel,
the Learning Channel, Animal Planet and the Travel Channel. These shows
include Discovery Channel's "Ultimate Guide," a travel-adventure series
focusing on exotic destinations like the Amazon. David Karp, a senior vice
president of interactive television for Discovery Networks U.S., says the
on-demand offering is a "companion" business to the primary business of
running its cable networks.
"We are not going to do anything that will detract from our programming
networks," he says.
NBC's deal does give Intertainer the right to offer slightly delayed editions
of "NBC Nightly News" and "Meet the Press." But the agreement also gives
Intertainer programming from NBC's library, including episodes of "Saturday
Night Live," movies of the week, comedies and dramas. The shows could date as
far back as 20 years. Indeed, NBC doesn't want to threaten the value of newer
shows in the hugely profitable television syndication market, where
independent TV stations buy programming, says a person close to the network.
But even with the content constraints, Intertainer's Mr. Taplin believes the
company can build a commercial service from the programming it has. Mr.
Taplin says the company needs about half a million subscribers ordering at
least one movie every three months to break even. It now has about $30
million in the bank, enough to keep the service running until the end of
2002, though Mr. Taplin hopes to raise more money from existing and new
investors.
Reaching that half-a-million target will largely depend on Intertainer's
ability to get into homes as well as beat the competition. Lydia Loizides, an
analyst in the digital-TV group of New York-based Jupiter Research, says
Intertainer is "very solid on the content-partnership side" and had a better
than 50-50 chance of meeting its target. She notes, however, that cable
operators and telephone companies are planning to "go after the same dollars
that are in consumers' wallets, so who gets there first is something to be
determined."
So far, most cable operators are opting to offer their own version of movies
on demand, licensing the movies through an industry-owned consortium or
through other services. The only cable operator to be actively working with
Intertainer is Comcast, one of the nation's biggest cable operators. Comcast
is currently testing just the movies-on-demand part of Intertainer's service
as an additional feature on its digital-cable service. It's unclear whether
Comcast will offer Intertainer once it has completed the test, say people
familiar with the situation.
All that means is that Intertainer will likely have to rely mostly on
telephone companies' DSL services in order for the service to grow. In
Cincinnati, Zoomtown President Michael O'Brien says he plans to expand the
offering to all Zoomtown's 40,000 DSL customers in the first half of this
year. Qwest Communications International Inc. of Denver also is testing
Intertainer's service on its DSL lines and plans to introduce it in half a
dozen markets, including Seattle, Portland, Ore., Denver and Phoenix. Mr.
Taplin hopes Qwest will roll it out commercially by April, although a Qwest
spokeswoman wouldn't confirm the timing of the rollout.
Mr. Taplin also hopes Intertainer will be available in major markets like New
York "by the end of the summer" through telephone companies like Verizon
Communications Inc.'s DSL service. A Verizon spokesman says the company was
doing technical trials -- offering "many" video-on-demand services, including
Intertainer, free to some of its customers. The spokesman says Verizon "won't
speculate" on when these services would be commercially available.
A major rollout of Intertainer would help persuade studios and networks to
give up more timely content. Mr. Taplin says getting newer movies and TV
shows will require "a large market of people" ordering movies so those in
Hollywood can see they can make money from Intertainer and services like it.
"It's an evolutionary process," he says.
---
Mr. Peers is a staff reporter in The Wall Street Journal's New York bureau.

Copyright , 2000 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Entertainment + Technology (A Special Report)
Overview --- Thumbs Up: What makes a good entertainment site click?
By Bruce Orwall

03/26/2001
The Wall Street Journal
R6
(Copyright (c) 2001, Dow Jones & Company, Inc.)

You are forgiven for wondering whether the Web entertainment revolution has
ended before it even began.
A legion of online companies that once seemed to herald the dawn of a new era
in entertainment has instead crashed and burned during the past year, echoing
the cruel fate of Internet companies generally. It didn't matter whether the
venture was a scrappy start-up or one backed by marquee entertainment moguls
-- it seemed as if every attempt to convert the Web into the next big medium
for movies, television shows, music or original Internet creations was doomed
to failure.
But amid the devastation, pink slips and worthless stock options, a simple
truth may be getting lost: Some of this stuff actually works. And it's going
to get better.
There may not yet be business models that can support today's Web
entertainment experiments. But that's not stopping consumers from using their
computers to listen to music, watch movie previews, buy concert and movie
tickets and gather information about even the most obscure rock bands, films
and books.
And the offerings are only going to improve as broadband access increases --
and the entertainment industry digests the lessons from last year's shakeout.
Many companies are abandoning murky plans to create content specifically for
the Web and instead are focusing on what does seem to work online. For
instance, using the Internet to build fan hype for a movie. Or delivering the
fabled "movies on demand" via phone or cable lines. Or coming up with ways to
charge people for music downloads.
"For consumers who have broadband," says Rob Glaser, chairman and chief
executive of RealNetworks Inc., which makes online video software, "this will
be the first year that you can buy [online entertainment] that is comparable
to what you can get in the video store . . . . This will be a year when
people will say, `Hey, I get this.'"
In some sense, the potential of online entertainment has been obscured by
both the failure and the legal entanglements of the past year. The music
world stands as a striking example. A year ago, the now-notorious service
called Napster was just coming on the nation's radar, providing the first
glimpse of how a new concept called "file sharing" could allow computer users
all over the world to swap music files in the MP3 format. Of course, almost
none of those songs were being shared with any regard for the rights of the
copyright holders, causing an outcry from major record labels and some
artists that was more deafening than a Korn record. The labels prevailed in
an epic court battle that now threatens Napster's very existence.
Yet even as Napster struggles to get back on its feet, it has already proved
a big point: A lot of people are really interested in downloading music. They
can burn those MP3 files onto their own homemade customized CDs on which the
music can be arranged as they prefer. Though teenagers have used Napster's
file-sharing capability to fill up their hard drives with the latest hot
singles by Jennifer Lopez or Eminem, so far it's hard to say conclusively
that it has stopped them from buying those artists' CDs.
In any case, the labels realize that there's no turning back now, which is
why Bertelsmann AG's BMG unit entered into a partnership with Napster meant
to legitimize the service and bring it into the mainstream. Even the major
labels -- which have sneered at the notion of getting into business with
their nemesis -- are slogging through the tortuous technical and legal
problems that would allow them to launch their own digital downloading
services. When they're not busy suing Web upstarts like Napster or MP3.com,
media industry leaders like Vivendi Universal SA Chief Executive Jean-Marie
Messier publicly predict that, someday soon, we'll all be downloading Shania
Twain songs straight from the Web to our wireless mobile phones, which will
also store and play the music back.
Consumers seem ready for this kind of flexibility. They're experimenting with
other forms of online music, such as Web-based radio stations that offer a
much wider variety of music than most over-the-air commercial stations. Not
to be left out, traditional broadcasters are scrambling to put their stations
or radio networks on the Web, too -- often with appealing results, like the
extensive archive of news programs maintained by National Public Radio.
Web fan frenzies are by no means limited to the music world. Fans of popular
movie franchises like "Star Wars" have taken matters into their own hands,
creating detailed and frequently innovative shrines to their favorite icons.
As chronicled elsewhere in this issue, sites like TheForce.net have shown
that a loyal audience can be built around Web sites that feed fan obsessions.
This has not escaped the notice of the movie studios. After the addicting Web
site for "The Blair Witch Project" helped turn that film into a phenomenon
two years ago, the movie business struggled in its efforts to use the
Internet as a tool for creating excitement about a film. But lately,
Hollywood has been showing signs of getting its act together.
Now some studios have begun to do essentially what movie fans have been doing
for a while -- creating rich, immersive Web sites built around some
high-profile properties, aimed at stoking interest among existing fans while
also attracting newcomers. The best recent example of this is the Web site
for New Line Cinema's coming "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, which aims to keep
users coming by promising that new interviews, pictures or bits of
information will be introduced almost daily for the next three years.
The idea is to make the site addictive to potential movie audiences, in the
same way that "Rings" author J.R.R. Tolkien sucked teenagers into the fantasy
world of his novels. Hollywood is trying to create the same kind of
experience for unknown properties as well, sometimes starting months before a
film's release. "Tomcats," the first film from former Disney Studio chief Joe
Roth's new Revolution Studios, has had a robust Web presence for months, even
using its site to cast a couple of bit roles in the film and follow the
exploits of the wannabes who won them. The teen comedy's imminent release
means that the industry will soon get a good notion of whether it's worth the
trouble to spend so much time and effort planting a movie into teenagers'
consciousness before it opens.
The studios now habitually show their preview trailers online -- and because
the software that allows video to play on your computer is getting better,
the picture and sound are more compelling all the time. The limitations of
current technology are still frustrating, as the picture that people see when
they play a video clip on their computer is still not even big enough to fill
up half a computer screen. But, especially for those with broadband
connections, the clips now play more smoothly and with fewer interruptions.
Part of the reason the studios are exploring the Web's possibilities as a
promotional tool is that the medium has flopped as a venue for original
content. A big lesson of the past year has been that it's difficult for
original Web entertainment to exist without the additional financial
advantage of being distributed in other media as well, so that it can
generate other revenue for its creators.
"Of the things you saw with [failed online-entertainment firms] is that it's
difficult to find a business model where you create original content for the
Web," says Walt Disney Co. strategic planning chief Peter Murphy. "But using
the Web as an ancillary form of distribution can be very powerful . . . .
It's a wonderful form of direct delivery to the consumer."
Indeed, the shakeout in Web technology companies has already weeded out many
of the ambitious upstarts that wanted to air original animation or short
live-action films on the Web. And Hollywood was atwitter last summer when
Pop.com -- the high-profile venture formed jointly by DreamWorks SKG and
Imagine Entertainment -- failed to even launch its much-ballyhooed site.
Pop's backers went into the Web venture thinking that short-form
entertainment created by DreamWorks' Steven Spielberg, Imagine's Ron Howard
and others would draw a big audience and provide a forum for top Hollywood
talent to devise new characters, which could then be spun into TV shows or
movies. But after a year of frustrating attempts to devise a business model
that would support such a venture, the Pop gang threw in the towel, promising
to return when the medium matured.
But some sites that show original films, like Ifilm Corp.'s Ifilm.com, have
survived; and, in some cases, companies have decided to improve their chances
by merging, as when Atom Corp. and its AtomFilm.com site were sold to
Macromedia Inc.'s Shockwave.com to form the new company that, in theory, is
better suited to keeping up with future competition. The start-ups that have
stayed alive have frequently been smart enough to make sure they are not
dependent solely on revenue from the Web; Atom, for example, licenses its
short films to airlines and local TV stations, too.
Whether they make it over the long haul remains to be seen. In fact, there is
still a good chance that all of the efforts to date to make filmed
entertainment work on the Web amount to little more than road kill on the
path to the day when the major entertainment companies get their act together
and figure out how to deliver their valuable movie and TV properties via the
new medium.
Several ventures are being prepared quite aggressively by the big media
companies, aimed at readying the Internet as a platform for digitally
delivering films to people's homes, either via phone or cable lines or by
wireless means. One is headed by Sony Corp., which has already conducted some
consumer tests involving films downloaded from the Web. Another effort, led
by Walt Disney in partnership with News Corp.'s 20th Century Fox, aims to do
the same thing via Disney's Movies.com site. Disney is also weighing whether
to move ahead with another project, dubbed MovieBox, that would also deliver
movies on demand, but this time via a wireless technology that doesn't
require the user to have a broadband Internet connection. Disney hasn't yet
decided whether to proceed.
A Los Angeles company called Intertainer Inc. has plans to deliver music and
movies on the Web, too. But Viacom Inc.'s Blockbuster unit and Enron Corp.
recently dissolved a highly touted joint venture, though both companies say
they will pursue video-on-demand on their own.
Disney's Internet efforts in general demonstrate both the promise and the
frustration of getting a foothold in the new medium. The company's attempt to
compete in the portal business, called Go.com, was a fiasco from the moment
it made its debut in 1999. Already too far behind Yahoo! Inc. and others in
the portal race, Disney attempted to narrow Go's focus to entertainment,
recreation and leisure. That, too, was a bust, and Disney recently folded Go
altogether, marking the embarrassing conclusion of a saga that probably
should have never begun.
Yet Go.com's failure has masked progress within Disney's Web unit, like its
ESPN.com operation, which only stands to get better with the rise of
broadband and its enhanced ability to use video and audio clips. ESPN.com,
for example, will soon unveil a product called MySportsCenter, based on the
ESPN cable channel's popular news program "SportsCenter." MySportsCenter will
allow ESPN to deliver an online package of the day's sports highlights
tailored to each user's interests and favorite teams. If you tell ESPN.com
that your world revolves around pro hoops star Allen Iverson or baseball's
Alex Rodriguez, the site plans to give you a package of clips based on how
those stars and their teams did in the previous day's games.
---
Mr. Orwall, a staff reporter in The Wall Street Journal's Los Angeles bureau,
served as contributing editor of this report.
---
Journal Link: How has the Web changed the way you use and shop for
entertainment? Join a discussion in the online Journal at
WSJ.com/JournalLinks.
--- Digital Entertainment Network:
Online "network" with episodic shows

Pop.com:
Animated and live-action entertainment shorts

Icebox.com:
Web animation studio

Z.com:
Short films and animations

Go.com:
Disney's Web portal

Checkout.com:
Online music e-tailer

Stan Lee Media:
Digital entertainment studio

Scour.com:
Music file-sharing service

Copyright , 2000 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Report on Business: The Wall Street Journal
What's News
United States
Wall Street Journal

03/26/2001
The Globe and Mail
Metro
B8
"All material Copyright (c) Bell Globemedia Publishing Inc. and its
licensors. All rights reserved."

Enron Corp.'s $2-billion (U.S.) agreement to sell its Portland General
Electric unit to Sierra Pacific Resources may be the latest casualty of
Western U.S. energy crisis. There is only a "5-per-cent probability" that the
sale will proceed, Enron's chief executive officer, Jeffrey Skilling, said.
Sierra Pacific has been unable to sell its interest in certain generating
assets, which it needed to do to complete the purchase from the Houston-based
energy and trading company. Mr. Skilling said he's "not in a particular rush"
to sell Portland General, which Enron acquired in 1996, although he said he
would like to put the money to work in higher-profit businesses. In Friday
New York Stock Exchange composite trading, Enron rose $4.38 to $59.40.

Copyright , 2000 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

USA: Enron's deal to sell Portland General seen dead-WSJ.

03/26/2001
Reuters English News Service
(C) Reuters Limited 2001.

NEW YORK, March 26 (Reuters) - Enron Corp.'s $2 billion agreement to sell its
Portland General Electric unit to Sierra Pacific Resources may fall through,
the Wall Street Journal reported in its online edition Monday.
There is only a "5 percent probability" that the sale will go through, Enron
's chief executive, Jeffrey Skilling, was reported as saying on Friday.
Sierra Pacific has been unable to sell its interest in certain generating
assets, which it needed to do to complete the purchase from the Houston-based
energy and trading company, the paper said.
Sierra Pacific agreed in November 1999 to buy Portland General for $2 billion
and the assumption of $1 billion of debt, the paper noted.
Enron shares finished up $4.31 at $59.40 on the New York Stock Exchange
Friday. The stock has a 52-week high of $90.56 and a 52-week low of $51.55.
Sierra Pacific shares, meanwhile, finished up 4 cents at $12.80, also on the
Big Board. Sierra Pacific stock has a 52-week high of $19.44 and a 52-week
low of $10.57.

Copyright , 2000 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Enron's 2 bln usd sale of PGE unit unlikely to go through - CEO

03/26/2001
AFX News
(c) 2001 by AFP-Extel News Ltd

LONDON (AFX) - Enron Corp's 2 bln usd sale of Portland General Electric unit
to Sierra Pacific Resources is unlikely to go through, Enron chief executive
Jeffrey Skilling said according to the Wall Street Journal.
Sierra Pacific has been unable to sell its interest in certain generating
assets, which it needed to do to complete the purchase from the Houston-based
energy and trading company, the newspaper said.
Skilling said he's "not in a particular rush" to sell Portland General,
although he said he would like to put the money to work in higher-profit
businesses.
There are "several billion dollars worth of assets" that Enron will sell "in
the next few years" in its quest to maximize its returns, he said.
Skilling said Enron is moving more heavily into the trading of liquefied
natural gas and is considering exercising options to acquire three LNG
vessels as well as to develop LNG gasification facilities in the Bahamas and
Venezuela. He said Enron Online, the firm's Internet-based trading platform,
soon will begin trading LNG contracts, as well.
Skilling also said the company plans to cut capital spending on its
fiber-optics network to about 250 mln usd this year from an earlier estimated
budget of 750 mln. He said the company can acquire much of the
telecommunications capacity it needs to expand its businesses through
contracts with other owners rather than by building additional network
capacity itself.
Despite the fact California's utilities aren't paying their bills, Enron's
credit exposure in that state is declining, he added.
vh/jfr For more information and to contact AFX: www.afxnews.com and
www.afxpress.com

Copyright , 2000 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

INDIA'S ESSAR MAY OPT OUT OF SHELL LNG VENTURE

03/26/2001
Asia Pulse
(c) Copyright 2001 Asia Pulse PTE Ltd.

NEW DELHI, March 26 Asia Pulse - The Essar Group is considering pulling out
of the Royal Dutch Shell promoted Rs 23 billion (US$493.7 million) Hazira
Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Terminal project in the western state of Gujarat
due to "overcrowding" of gas projects on the western coast.
"We are having a rethink on the venture as the region may not be able to
absorb the amount of gas coming by way of proposed projects," Essar Group
Chairman Shashi Ruia told PTI.
Essar, being the possible buyer of LNG for its 515 MW power plant at Hazira,
has a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Shell India for equity
participation in the project.
Besides, the five million tonnes Essar-Shell LNG terminal, LNG import
facilities of more than 12.5 million tonnes by various consortias are being
put up in Gujarat, Ruia said adding Gujarat and up-North won't be able to
absorb such an inflow of natural gas.
While Petronet LNG, a joint venture of Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Bharat
Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL), Gas Authority of India Ltd (GAIL) and Oil
and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) is setting up a five million tonne import
facility at Dahej, British Gas is putting up 2.5 million tonnes LNG terminal
at Pipavav.
Reliance is also setting up a five million tonnes LNG terminal at Jamnagar at
an estimated cost of Rs 45 billion.
Ruia said two projects in Maharashtra - five million tonnes capacity LNG
terminal of Enron and 3.5 million tonnes import facility of GAIL-TotalFinaElf
at Trombay - would saturate the demand in the region.
(PTI) 26-03 1756

Copyright , 2000 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.


OK for me.

	Lisa Lees
	04/03/2001 04:37 PM

		 To: Mark Taylor/HOU/ECT@ECT, Karen Lambert/HOU/ECT@ECT, Kelly
Lombardi/NA/Enron@Enron
		 cc: Tana Jones/HOU/ECT@ECT, Tom Moran/Enron@EnronXGate
		 Subject: PLEASE RESPOND: Product type profiles (CAN Gas Straddle Option)

The product long description below will fall under the new product type CAN
Gas Straddle Option.  Credit (Tom Moran) has approved copying the profiles
for the new product type from the following:

 US Financial Option Call

Please respond no later than 10:00 a.m. Wednesday, April 4.

Thank you.
---------------------- Forwarded by Lisa Lees/HOU/ECT on 04/03/2001 04:34 PM
---------------------------

Chris Walker
03/30/2001 01:43 PM
To: Jeff Blumenthal/Enron@EnronXGate, Susan Musch/Enron@EnronXGate, Bjorn
Hagelmann/Enron@EnronXGate, Frank Hayden/ENRON@enronXgate, Mark
Taylor/HOU/ECT@ECT, Tom Moran/Enron@EnronXGate, Dianne Seib/CAL/ECT@ECT
cc: Lisa Lees/HOU/ECT@ECT, Stephanie Sever/HOU/ECT@ECT, Tana
Jones/HOU/ECT@ECT, Karen Lambert/HOU/ECT@ECT, Kelly Lombardi/NA/Enron@Enron,
Tara Sweitzer/HOU/ECT@ECT, Dawn C Kenne/HOU/ECT@ECT, Torrey
Moorer/HOU/ECT@ECT, Kevin Meredith/Corp/Enron@ENRON, Melba
Lozano/HOU/ECT@ECT, Robert B Cass/HOU/ECT@ECT, Savita
Puthigai/Enron@EnronXGate
Subject: Product type approval needed! (CAN Gas Straddle Option)

Your approval is needed for the following product type in Datamanager.
Please see the steps for approval below.

CAN Gas Straddle Option (product type description)

CAN NG Stdle Opt  (product short description as it appears on the Website)

A financial Option Transaction with Enron Canada Corp., under which the
Seller receives the Premium and the Buyer receives the Cash Settlement
Amount. Each calendar month during the Term of the Transaction will be a
Determination Period, provided that if the Term of the Transaction is less
than one calendar month the Determination Period shall be the Term of the
Transaction. The Notional Quantity per Determination Period shall be
calculated from the volume submitted by Counterparty on the Website in
accordance with the unit of measure. The Premium shall equal the product of
(i) the price submitted by Counterparty via the Website, multiplied by (ii)
the Notional Quantity per Determination Period, multiplied by (iii) the
number of Determination Periods during the Term of the Transaction. The
Payment Date for the Premium shall be 2 business days after the Trade Date of
the Transaction. The Payment Date(s) for the Cash Settlement Amount shall be
5 business days after the Cash Settlement Amount is determinable. The Cash
Settlement Amount for each Determination Period shall be the product of (a)
the Notional Quantity per Determination Period, multiplied by (b) the
absolute difference between the Strike Price and the Index.
The Index for each Determination Period shall be the "AECO Monthly Index",
where: "AECO Monthly Index" means the price in the "Avg" column published in
the table "Canadian Natural Gas Supply Prices", in the Canadian Gas Price
Reporter, in the row for "Alberta: AECO "C" & NIT One-Month Spot" for the
month in which the applicable Determination Period occurs.
The price is quoted in Canadian Dollars per unit of volume, which will be the
Contractual Currency.
The unit of measure against which the price is quoted shall be gigajoules and
the quantity shown shall be in GJs per day.
The Option Style is European, and the Option Type is a Straddle (the
simultaneous purchase or sale of Calls and Puts at the specified Strike
Price).
Automatic Exercise is Applicable.
The Strike Price for the Transaction shall be as set forth in the  product
short description on the website.

STEPS FOR APPROVAL:

click the  START button
select  PROGRAMS
select  TEST APPLICATIONS
select ENRONONLINE CLUSTER(PROD)
 PROCEED WITH USUAL LOGIN/PASSWORD
click the Enron Online Production Cluster "START" button
select EnronOnLine (this is the EOL Datamanager)
 PROCEED WITH EOL LOGIN/PASSWORD
click on the "+" for EnronOnLine
click on the "+" for Product Types
click on the "+" for "Awaiting Approval" (OR  "Partially Approved")
select the product requiring review as stated in e-mail above
Right "mouse" click on "properties" to view product set-up
TO APPROVE:  Right mouse click on "Approved"


---------------------- Forwarded by Errol McLaughlin/Corp/Enron on 05/02/2001
09:54 AM ---------------------------
From: Bradley Jones/ENRON@enronXgate on 05/02/2001 01:05 AM
To: Errol McLaughlin/Corp/Enron@ENRON
cc:

Subject: orig

Errol,
I noticed a small mistake late last night.  Their is West orig on your Orig
schedule that is not 0.  It is already on the west schedule so the value just
needs to be taken off your orig schedule tab.

The cells that need to be set = to 0 are p41 and q41

thanks,
brad


My review of our file with Repo Agreements shows that we have agreements with
the following Counterparties:

1.  Chase Securities Inc.
2.  BZW Securities Limited
3.  Goldman Sachs & Co.
4.  Goldman Sachs Canada
5.  Goldman Sachs International
6.  Credit Suisse First Boston Corporation
7.  HBC Greenwell
8.  RBC Dominion Securities Inc.
9.  The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC

Sara, is out of the office on Jury Duty.  I will follow-up with her on the
status of the agreement with WDR when she return later this week.

Samantha M. Boyd
Sr. Legal Specialist
Enron North America, Corp.
1400 Smith, EB3802A
Houston, TX  77002
Phone:  (713) 853-9188
Fax:  (713) 646-3490
email:  samantha.boyd@enron.com

	Laurel Adams@ECT
	01/17/2001 10:36 AM

		 To: Stephanie Panus/NA/Enron@Enron, Susan Bailey/HOU/ECT@ECT, Samantha
Boyd/NA/Enron@Enron
		 cc:
		 Subject: Repo agreements

Ellen Su, bond trader in  Gary Hickerson's world, would like to know with
whom we have repo agreements.  I'm pretty sure we have them with Goldman
Sachs & Co. and with BMO/Nesbitt Burns.  Sara Shackleton has been working on
getting an agreement signed with Warburg Dillon Read, but it appears that at
present this document is not signed.

Could you please advise if we have signed repo docs with any other
counterparties?  Could you also update me on the status of the WDR agreement?

Thank you very much for your help.


The following expense report is ready for approval:

Employee Name: Chris Germany
Status last changed by:  Automated Administrator
Expense Report Name: ChrisGermany050901
Report Total: $205.94
Amount Due Employee: $205.94

To approve this expense report, click on the following link for Concur
Expense.
http://xms.enron.com


Per David's request, attached is an overview of the HR Associates/Analysts
project - Creating a Human Resource Value Index.  This document will provide
a brief, top-line overview of the following:

Description of the Challenges
People Involved
Positive Outcomes
High-level description of the process we suggest

If you have any questions before our Tuesday meeting please contact either
myself or Dan Brown.

Thanks! Tana Cashion

David Oxley@ECT
10/05/2000 10:20 AM
To: Gerry Gibson/Corp/Enron@Enron
cc: Andrea Yowman/Corp/Enron@ENRON, Bob Sparger/Corp/Enron@Enron, Tim
O'Rourke/Corp/Enron@Enron, Ted C Bland/HOU/ECT@ECT, Daniel
Brown/NA/Enron@Enron, Tana Cashion/NA/Enron@ENRON, Rhonna Palmer/HOU/ECT@ECT,
Cindy Olson/Corp/Enron@ENRON, Vince J Kaminski/HOU/ECT@ECT, Kay
Chapman/HOU/ECT@ECT, Sarah A Davis/HOU/ECT@ECT, Marla Barnard/Enron
Communications@Enron Communications, Pam Butler/HR/Corp/Enron@ENRON, Michelle
Cash/HOU/ECT@ECT, Brian Schaffer/Corp/Enron@ENRON, Suzanne Brown/HOU/ECT@ECT,
Robert Jones/Corp/Enron@ENRON, Neil Davies/Corp/Enron@ENRON

Subject: Re: Mission Impossible - HR Associate Groups Recommendation and next
steps

I notice my calender doesn't yet seem to have this meeting scheduled. I will
ask Kay Chapman (since Rhonna has now deserted me!) to help put a time
together. Drew/Mary, FYI sorry I didn't get a chance to send you this before.
Let me know if you want to attend, happy to have you there.

Gerry, can you help me put an agenda together so that everyone knows what we
are looking to achieve here. In broad terms I am looking to do the following:

Update all on project we set HR Associate group and their recommendations
Discuss their recommendations and look at any refinements or ideas we think
we should also incorporate (see my thumb nail sketch notes inspired by
Associate group below).
Reaffirm commitment to take this project forward and agree:
Team for doing so
Resources and timimg
Methodology for agreeing final version.
My ambition is that we (but in particular Andrea, Bob, Gerry, Tim, Tana, Dan,
Neil, myself and possibly Suzanne if she can given the work she had already
done in this area) all agree to contribute to this and get it done without
the need for a formation of a new team or group. Obviously everyone welcome
to participate.

Tana/Dan,

Can you cicruclate a summary of your teams proposals to this group so we they
can review before meeting. Could you also agree within your team who you
would like to attend this meeting (I would suggest 2 or 3 of you attend
rather than all).

Thanks

David

David Oxley
09/26/2000 11:38 AM
To: Andrea Yowman/Corp/Enron@ENRON, Bob Sparger/Corp/Enron@Enron, Gerry
Gibson/Corp/Enron@Enron, Tim O'Rourke/Corp/Enron@Enron, Ted C
Bland/HOU/ECT@ECT, Vince J Kaminski/HOU/ECT@ECT
cc: Daniel Brown/NA/Enron@Enron, Tana Cashion/NA/Enron@ENRON, Rhonna
Palmer/HOU/ECT@ECT, Cindy Olson/Corp/Enron@ENRON
Subject: Mission Impossible - HR Associate Groups Recommendation and next
steps

Rhonna,

Please arrange a meeting later this week for all of those addressed by this
message (Vince, it would great if one of your team could attend since we will
need some heavy statistical and analytical help to complete this project).

The prupose of the meeting will be to discuss and delegate next steps
required to implement the HR Associate groups recommendations for the
development of an HR "value index" at Enron.

I would anticipate we will need approx 45minutes.

David


Jon,
	As per our discussion, the physical deals that we cancelled on
November 30, 2001 were as follows (Jan-Mar 2002 portion)

	5,000 Dth/day, 11/1/2001-3/31/2002, Union Gas Ltd. DAWN, Nymex LDS
plus U.S.$0.230 - Enron Deal 1133591
	1,000 Dth/day, 11/1/2001-3/31/2002, TGPL Z6 NY, Nymex LDS plus
$1.875 - Enron Deal 1124374
	5,000 Dth/day, 11/1/2001-3/31/2002, TGPL Z6 NY, Inside F.E.R.C.
index plus $0.35 - Enron Deal 1123276
	5,000 Dth/day, 11/1/2001-3/31/2002, TGP Z6, Nymex LDS plus $0.65 -
Enron Deal 1139658 * (our records show plus $0.63)

If there are any questions, pls. do not hesitate to contact me.  Thanks.

Cynthia L. Armstrong
Managing Dir., Nat.Gas Supply & Risk Management
Sprague Energy Corp.
Two International Drive, Suite 200
Portsmouth, NH 03801-0609
Direct Telephone: (603) 766-7412
Fax:                    (603) 430-5320
Cell:                    (603) 502-6556
Pager:                 (800) 946-4645 Pin #: 6221678


Steve,

Attached is the invitee/attendee list from this morning's arena meeting, per
your request.

Vanessa


Tony,

No problem.

Vince

Anthony Mends@ENRON COMMUNICATIONS
01/11/2001 01:40 PM
To: Vince J Kaminski/HOU/ECT@ECT
cc:
Subject:

Vince,

I hope you are well. Until today, I did not know there was another Kaminski
at Enron. Perhaps you know him already but I found him in the Enron address
book his first name is Jim.

I am enrolled in the above mandatory program and I have nominated you in the
peer/colleague category,  to provide feedback on me. I do not know the nature
of the questions you would be required to respond to but sometime soon you
would receive an e-mail asking you for your input.

I know your plate is full and life is already hectic but I thought I could
nominate you for your input.  I should be grateful if you would take some
time off your very hectic schedule and provide the feedback on me.

Very many thanks,

Tony
Enron Broadband Services
713-853-3939


Start Date: 1/10/02; HourAhead hour: 15;  No ancillary schedules awarded.  No variances detected.

    LOG MESSAGES:

PARSING FILE -->> O:\Portland\WestDesk\California Scheduling\ISO Final Schedules\2002011015.txt


This is to confirm Mr. Kean's attendance at the HR/ PR/ Comm.  Affairs VP Pre
ranking scheduled for 14 December at 2:00 in EB 30C2.  Also in attendance at
this meeting will be Cindy Olson, Rick Shaprio, Beth Tilney,  and Dan
Leff.    Please don't hesitate to contact me should you have any questions or
concerns.  Many thanks,

 Gina Corteselli


FYI.
----- Forwarded by Jeff Dasovich/NA/Enron on 03/14/2001 07:45 PM -----

	Vicki Sharp@EES
	03/14/2001 03:03 PM

		 To: Marty Sunde/HOU/EES@EES, Dan Leff/HOU/EES@EES, David W
Delainey/HOU/EES@EES, James Derrick/Enron@EnronXGate, Janet R
Dietrich/HOU/EES@EES
		 cc: Robert C Williams/Enron@EnronXGate, Mike D Smith/HOU/EES@EES, Jeff
Dasovich/NA/Enron@Enron, Evan Hughes/HOU/EES@EES, Tom Riley/Western
Region/The Bentley Company@Exchange, Peggy Mahoney/HOU/EES@EES
		 Subject: Summary of Enron's filing in UC/CSU case

Attached is a summary of the Enron's motion in opposition to  UC/CSU's motion
for an expedited hearing schedule.  The documents will be filed later today
and circulated to the working group.  Once this filing is made we will turn
our efforts to preparing our answer to their complaint, and continue
developing our strategy on the counterclaim.

Thanks to Bob Williams, Mike Smith,  Evan Hughes,  Jeff Dasovich, Dennis
Benevides, Peggy Mahoney,and Tom Riley for their efforts in this matter.


Gerald,

Here is their response to our comments.  Not much but take a look:

Under term7:  Notices - unless we include language similiar to...'Fax is
acceptable as long as the fax is followed by hardcopy documentation and
effective upon such hardcopy reciept.'  Back to square one.  They don't like
fax.
Under term 8:  they are objecting to affiliate assignment.  Successor is ok.
Affiliate assignment is no good.  They would like to take out the term
assigns.

that is it.

brant

To: Brant Reves/HOU/ECT@ECT
cc: Barbara N Gray/HOU/ECT@ECT
Subject: Bridgeline Guaranty

Brant,  The attached doc. contains Hess Energy Trading Company, LLC's
comments to our guaranty form with our responses.  Please forward as
appropriate.  I would be happy to discuss our comments with Hess if they so
desire.


Kim make sure you brief me about this on Monday,

John
---------------------- Forwarded by John J Lavorato/Corp/Enron on 12/02/2000
09:57 AM ---------------------------

	From:  Laura Valencia                           12/01/2000 09:17 AM

To: John J Lavorato/Corp/Enron@Enron
cc: Kimberly Hillis/HOU/ECT@ect

Subject: Confirmation of your Video Shoot

Thank you for agreeing to participate in the video for the Houston Analyst
Meeting taking place in January of 2001.
We have scheduled your shoot for Tuesday, December 5th at  1:00 p.m.  If you
have any questions in regards to the video content or questions that will be
addressed, please contact Kathryn Corbally at X34785.

I can be reached at X36785 if I can be of any further assistance.

Thank you, Laura


that could be a dealbreaker!

Shanna Husser@ENRON
02/28/2000 01:49 PM
To: Eric Bass/HOU/ECT@ECT
cc:
Subject: Re:

Then- You best work on becoming sweet real quick!

	From:  Eric Bass @ ECT                           02/28/2000 01:40 PM

To: Shanna Husser/Corp/Enron@ENRON
cc:

Subject: Re:

It lasts until I become sweet or you admit that you were the aggressor when
we met - whichever comes first.(ha!)

Shanna Husser@ENRON
02/28/2000 12:23 PM
To: Eric Bass/HOU/ECT@ECT
cc:
Subject: Re:

So rude!  Now how long is this no kissing thing going on?  I need to mentally
prepare myself.

	From:  Eric Bass @ ECT                           02/28/2000 11:50 AM

To: Shanna Husser/Corp/Enron@Enron
cc:

Subject:

Remember - No Kisses!


no problem...i've been good, just busy with the new job.  all of the sudden i actually have time to do things so i spent the last weekend just trying to get my life re-organized.  not a very exciting weekend, but extremely necessary.  what's up with you?

 -----Original Message-----
From: 	Nguyen, Michael
Sent:	Monday, April 30, 2001 12:09 PM
To:	Scott, Susan M.
Subject:	RE: socal gas?

thanks...so how have you been lately?

 -----Original Message-----
From: 	Scott, Susan M.
Sent:	Friday, April 27, 2001 3:48 PM
To:	""Nguyen, Michael" <Michael.Nguyen@ENRON.com>@ENRON" <IMCEANOTES-+22Nguyen+2C+20Michael+22+20+3CMichael+2ENguyen+40ENRON+2Ecom+3E+40ENRON@ENRON.com>@SMTP@enronXgate
Subject:	RE: socal gas?

looks like the curve was marked around 9.0625 for jun/sept...but you'll have to talk to keith holst to get an absolute price

 -----Original Message-----
From: 	"Nguyen, Michael" <Michael.Nguyen@ENRON.com>@ENRON [mailto:IMCEANOTES-+22Nguyen+2C+20Michael+22+20+3CMichael+2ENguyen+40ENRON+2Ecom+3E+40ENRON@ENRON.com]
Sent:	Friday, April 27, 2001 1:32 PM
To:	sscott5@enron.com
Subject:	socal gas?

hello,

quick question on gas, ma'am..what's basis for june/sept gas call?

thanks,
mn


One of your friends sent this email through our website.
Friend's name: Angela Barnett
Friend's IP address: 192.152.140.9
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---------------------- Forwarded by Valarie Sabo/PDX/ECT on 02/28/2001 10:56
AM ---------------------------
From: Stewart Rosman on 02/27/2001 05:28 PM
To: Melissa Ann Murphy/HOU/ECT@ECT
cc: Valarie Sabo/PDX/ECT@ECT, Jeff Richter/HOU/ECT@ECT, Chris
Mallory/PDX/ECT@ECT, Carla Hoffman/PDX/ECT@ECT, Phillip Platter/HOU/ECT@ECT,
Jeremy Morris/PDX/ECT@ECT
Subject: New Counterparty

EPMI just signed an EEI with the Port of Oakland - in addition we did a
monthly deal for March.

The deal is as follows:
EPMI sell 7 MW of power flat at NP-15 for the month of March.  The price is
$208.  The contact is Wing Lau (phone number is 510-627-1457).

I will be out on Wednesday and would like to review the contract on Thursday
- scheduling will need to get it into the system

Please call me on my cell phone with any questions (503-807-0920).

Thanks!

Stewart


FYI - here is the info I have.  As she said, not exactly the answer we wanted.  I am still waiting on a final list to cross reference with our calcs.
PL

 -----Original Message-----
From: 	Balfour-Flanagan, Cyndie
Sent:	Wednesday, January 23, 2002 2:33 PM
To:	Love, Phillip M.
Subject:	RE: Deals to be moved to Bankruptcy Books (From Russell's Exposure Report)

Stacey Richardson is researching additional transactions & we are receiving daily updates from legal regarding counterparties who have terminated either their agreements or specific transactions due to the bankruptcy. However, the deal count should begin to reduce.

Not the answer you were looking for, but the best I can give for today.

Cyndie

 -----Original Message-----
From: 	Love, Phillip M.
Sent:	Wednesday, January 23, 2002 1:34 PM
To:	Balfour-Flanagan, Cyndie
Subject:	RE: Deals to be moved to Bankruptcy Books (From Russell's Exposure Report)

Is this the last list we are going to get?  Jeff Gossett wants to know if we are done so that we can assure Don Miller that all of the CP's have been taken care of.  Thanks.
PL

 -----Original Message-----
From: 	Balfour-Flanagan, Cyndie
Sent:	Wednesday, January 23, 2002 9:47 AM
To:	Love, Phillip M.
Subject:	RE: Deals to be moved to Bankruptcy Books (From Russell's Exposure Report)

According to the letters rec'd from Legal, applicable contract status - - - - yes.

Thank you!

 -----Original Message-----
From: 	Love, Phillip M.
Sent:	Wednesday, January 23, 2002 9:03 AM
To:	Balfour-Flanagan, Cyndie
Subject:	RE: Deals to be moved to Bankruptcy Books (From Russell's Exposure Report)

I just want to be crystal clear on the file you sent.  We need to move all of these deals to the Bankruptcy book?  Thanks for your help.
PL

 -----Original Message-----
From: 	Balfour-Flanagan, Cyndie
Sent:	Tuesday, January 22, 2002 8:01 PM
To:	Gossett, Jeffrey C.; Palmer, B. Scott; Giron, Darron C.; Love, Phillip M.
Cc:	Hall, Bob M; Theriot, Kim S.; Hodge, Jeffrey T.; Richardson, Stacey
Subject:	Deals to be moved to Bankruptcy Books (From Russell's Exposure Report)

The attached deal list are the deals behind those contracts, for those deals that are currently not included in the bankruptcy books. Please note that there are still several deals that I am trying to reconcile back to Sitara numbers. Assuming that I can do so, I will send supplemental information tomorrow afternoon.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any additional questions or concerns.

Thank you,
Cyndie
ext. 3-1443

 << File: 'Live' deal listing_TO BE MOVED TO BANKRUPTCY BOOK.xls >>


Forwarded as we discussed.  Likewise, I will check with Gary regarding the
status.
----- Forwarded by Dan J Hyvl/HOU/ECT on 04/19/2001 09:08 AM -----

	Dan J Hyvl
	02/02/2001 08:37 AM

		 To: Gary W Lamphier/HOU/ECT@ECT
		 cc:
		 Subject: Re: Westhollow Technology Center Bid Confirmation

Gary,
 Please review the foregoing to see if it is your understanding of the deal.
We have no documentation from Shell Chemical Company to evidence their
assignment of the contract to Shell Chemical L.P., so I have left the
Transaction under Shell Chemical Company.  I assume that you are having Steve
Van Hooser work on the Lease Amendment.  Call me if you need anything further.


----- Forwarded by Sara Shackleton/HOU/ECT on 05/16/2000 09:35 AM -----

	Rod Nelson
	05/16/2000 09:24 AM

		 To: Sara Shackleton/HOU/ECT@ECT
		 cc:
		 Subject:


Jeff -

Rubena called to see if you'd be available today for a conference call
w/Harry Kingerski re: SCE PX Credit
at 2:30 our time/4:30 central.

Please so advise me your availability -- or preferable time, if need be?? --
ASAP.

Thanks,

Joseph


Let me know what I can do until Gerald is back.  I'm still working on the
DASH and my Risk Memo. Will have the former to you as soon as possible.

Steve
----- Forwarded by Steve Van Hooser/HOU/ECT on 01/08/01 09:12 AM -----

	Pat Radford
	01/08/01 08:56 AM

		 To: Steve Van Hooser/HOU/ECT@ECT
		 cc:
		 Subject: Re: ALAMAC Outstanding Issues

Steve - Just wanted to let you know that Gerald is out with the flu at least
today, and maybe tomorrow.

	Steve Van Hooser
	01/08/2001 07:55 AM

		 To: Gerald Nemec, cthompson@bracepatt.com, jsonnenberg@bracepatt.com,
aduncan@kilstock.com
		 cc: Pat Radford
		 Subject: ALAMAC Outstanding Issues

I am forwarding you Heather's workproduct on outstanding issuse. If that are
legal or other issues that you are aware of that would negatively impact or
delay the closing of the ALAMAC transaction beyond the January 19th drop dead
date, please let me know ASAP.

Thanks

Steve
----- Forwarded by Steve Van Hooser/HOU/ECT on 01/08/01 07:47 AM -----

	Heather Kroll
	01/07/01 03:59 PM

		 To: Dwight Beach/HOU/ECT@ECT, Ozzie Pagan/HOU/ECT@ECT, Glenn
Wright/Corp/Enron@ENRON, Steve Van Hooser/HOU/ECT@ECT
		 cc:
		 Subject: Outstanding Issues

To all:

I've put together a list of outstanding issues that need to be resolved prior
to the Jan 19 closing.  Let me know if I've forgotten anything.

I'll be out of the office Monday through Wednesday, but can be reached by my
cell phone (713.569.1131) or pager (888.472.7841).  Also, I'll be working out
of the NY office all day on Tuesday.

Regards,

Heather


Mr. Taylor:
No, lets just call it a good set of questions and end it at that.  JParks

>>> "Taylor, Michael E" <Michael.E.Taylor@ENRON.com> 09/26/01 01:25PM >>>
Jim,

Was I billed anything for this latest request?

Mike

-----Original Message-----
From: Jim Parks [mailto:JPARKS@tnrcc.state.tx.us]
Sent: Wednesday, September 26, 2001 1:08 PM
To: Taylor, Michael E
Subject: RE: TNRCC State Summary File

Mr. Taylor:
I attach the most current query from the September State Summary File.
It would be ideal if you could obtain data from the October State
Summary File because then all of the data sent to you regarding your
latest data request would be from October.

BTW, the naming convention with this data is "enronxxxx.xls" where the
x'x are the month (10 or 09) and the FY ('97, '98 '99 '00).  This file
is also in Excel v. 5 format.

Let me know if this data fits the bill.  Same billing information as
with the previous data.
Jim Parks
PH     512 239-2544
FAX   512 239-0888
jparks@tnrcc.state.tx.us

>>> "Taylor, Michael E" <Michael.E.Taylor@ENRON.com> 09/26/01 10:27AM
>>>
Jim,

Thanks for the great information.  Also, is any information available
for 2000 for any of the same account numbers?

Sincerely,
Michael Taylor
713-853-1885

-----Original Message-----
From: Jim Parks [mailto:JPARKS@tnrcc.state.tx.us]
Sent: Wednesday, September 26, 2001 10:11 AM
To: Taylor, Michael E
Subject: RE: TNRCC State Summary File

Mr. Taylor:
Here are the emissions data files from the appropriate State Summary
Files for the years 1997, 1998, 1999.  The attached files are in Excel
v. 5 format.  If Excel v. 5 format is not acceptable I will be able to
send them to you in ASCII.TXT, comma-delimited, first row of data used
as field names format.  Let me know if you want them in the latter
described format.  This data is just for the TNRCC account numbers
supplied in your request.

Please let me know if this data is acceptable.  There is no charge for
this data because it is not the entire State Summary File for each year.

I want to thank you for typing the account numbers.  This saves me
considerable typing time when setting up the queries.

If you have any questions or need additional data, you may contact me at
the locations listed below.  Thank you for the opportunity to serve your
data request.
Jim Parks
PH     512 239-2544
FAX   512 239-0888
jparks@tnrcc.state.tx.us

>>> "Taylor, Michael E" <Michael.E.Taylor@ENRON.com> 09/25/01 01:37PM
>>>
Jim,

I wanted to know how I would find this data.  I am looking for the NOx
emissions for the accounts below for 1997-2000.  I have some of the data
for 1999, and very little for 2000.  How do I find the rest of the data?
Website?  Database?  I believe you sent me the state database in August
which included some 1999 and 2000 numbers for the accounts below.  I
suppose some more accounts may have been updated for 2000.

ACCOUNT #
HG1495V
HG0071Q
GB0004L
GB0153Q
HG1174V
HG0713S
MQ0009F
HG0232Q
HG0234M
HG0228H
MQ0007J
HG0033B
HG0048L
FG0020V
GB0037T
CI0012D
HG0659W
BL0082R
BL0022M

Sincerely,
Michael Taylor
Enron Global Markets
(713) 853-1885

-----Original Message-----
From: Jim Parks [mailto:JPARKS@tnrcc.state.tx.us]
Sent: Thursday, August 23, 2001 3:48 PM
To: Taylor, Michael E
Subject: RE: TNRCC State Summary File

Mr. Taylor:
1)  The allowable data is generally unique to each permit.  Because of
this a general statement like "the allowable tons/year for SO2 in Harris
County is ......." would not be defendable or valid.
2)  I believe that the allowable data varies in relation to the season
of year and part of the state - a.k.a., "ambient background threshold".
In other words, if it is ozone season, allowable emissions probably
would be lower.
3)  The allowable emissions threshold is also variable over time.  25
years ago, Harris county probably did not need an allowable cap for
certain emissions.  As industry grows the allowable emissions will be
adjusted.  The period of time for the data to become outdated could be
as little as 1 month, depending on when new allowables or new permits
are initiated.
4)  Texas charges corporations a "tax" for emissions over their
allowable limit.  It is sort of a pay-as-you-go plan.  Of course I am
being very simplistic here, but the point is still the same.

Your questions are excellent and I am giving you as specific an answer
as possible.  I hope I am not being too pointed but to the data oriented
person, the previous points are important for data integrity.  Jim Parks

>>> "Taylor, Michael E" <Michael.E.Taylor@ENRON.com> 08/23/01 03:10PM
>>>
Jim,

Could you please explain to me where these numbers would NOT be
accurate?  I was warned that the data (allowables) would not be 100%
accurate because of certain reasons.  Can you please detail those
reasons for me?

Michael Taylor
Coal and Emissions Trading
Enron Global Markets
(713) 853-1885

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Christine and I seem to have gotten Phillips interested in a right to
terminate if TW's minimum tariff rate ever exceeds the contract rate.  They
said they would mull it over, at least.

But what they really would prefer to have is a provision in which they would
get the contract rate no matter what.  Since this would make it a negotiated
rate deal from day 1, I feel like I need to get your buy-in before we agree
to it.  Steve has already told me it is OK with him.  Please advise.


----- Forwarded by Tana Jones/HOU/ECT on 06/28/2000 04:25 PM -----

	Tom Moran
	06/28/2000 04:00 PM

		 To: Frank L Davis/HOU/ECT@ECT, Karen Lambert/HOU/ECT@ECT, Tana
Jones/HOU/ECT@ECT, Samuel Schott/HOU/ECT@ECT, Tom Moran/HOU/ECT@ECT, Sheri
Thomas/HOU/ECT@ECT, Mark Taylor/HOU/ECT@ECT, Bernice Rodriguez/HOU/ECT@ECT,
Brant Reves/HOU/ECT@ECT, Debbie R Brackett/HOU/ECT@ECT, David
Hardy/LON/ECT@ECT, Lesli Campbell/HOU/ECT@ECT, Lisa Gillette/HOU/ECT@ECT,
Linda S Bryan/HOU/ECT@ECT, Connie Sutton/HOU/ECT@ECT, Sylvia A
Campos/HOU/ECT@ECT, Molly Harris/HOU/ECT@ECT, Cynthia Clark/Corp/Enron@ENRON,
Mary G Gosnell/HOU/ECT@ECT, Enron Europe Global Contracts and Facilities,
Enron Europe Global CounterParty, Stephanie Sever/HOU/ECT@ECT, Bradley
Diebner/HOU/ECT@ECT
		 cc:
		 Subject: EOL / Credit / GCP Responses 6/28/00

Please find attached Credit's EOL responses for 6/28/00.

Regards
tm


Pay them.

	Britt Davis@ENRON
	12/18/2000 06:35 PM

		 To: Richard B Sanders/HOU/ECT@ECT
		 cc: Linda R Guinn/HOU/ECT@ECT, Marcus Nettelton/NA/Enron@ENRON
		 Subject: Base Metals v. OJSC

Richard,

Please let me know what you want to do with these bills.

Britt
----- Forwarded by Britt Davis/Corp/Enron on 12/18/2000 06:38 PM -----

	Britt Davis
	12/06/2000 12:21 PM

		 To: Richard B Sanders/HOU/ECT@ECT
		 cc: Marcus Nettelton/NA/Enron@ENRON, Linda R Guinn/HOU/ECT@ECT
		 Subject: Base Metals v. OJSC

Richard,

I have received a final bill in the above-referenced matter from Mark D.
Gately, now of Hogan and Hartson.  Gately was the lead partner on this file
with Miles & Stockbridge before he changed firms toward the end of the case.
He is billing us for 6.75 hours at $325 an hour, for a total of $2,193.75.  I
find the bill in order and ask for your authority to place it in line for
payment.

I have also received a final bill in the above-referenced matter from Miles &
Stockbridge, for work done from October to date.  There are three timekeepers
(with billing rates from $290 to $115 an hour) who charged a total of 17.70
hours, for total fees of $4,101, and total expenses of $1,1129.30, for a
total bill of $ 5,230.00.  I find the bill in order and ask for your
authority to place it in line for payment.

Let me know if you wish to review either bill yourself, or whether you wish
to pay the bills yourself.

Britt


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