Power juggernaut Southern Co. and other utilities, along with oil companies and manufacturers, were doing their best to rail against a bill voted on last week by the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. The so-called Lieberman-Warner bill, which called for a 70 percent reduction in greenhouse-gas emissions by 2050 compared with 2005 levels, was approved by a slim margin Dec. 5. The bill would also allow major polluters to swap pollution permits in a "cap-and-trade" system.
But Wall Street either didn't notice what happened in the nation's capital, or knew the bill didn't have a chance in hell of passing when Congress eventually votes on it. The stocks of some of the biggest coal-burning companies and coal-mining operations rose Dec. 6, the day after the vote. Southern Co. was one of those lucky companies.
This coming via e-mail from Frank O'Donnell, executive director of D.C.-based Clean Air Watch:
For the record, hereâs what happened for the week for the top three coal-burning power company sources of carbon emissions:Southern Company â up $1.28 a share for the week, to close at $38.90
American Electric Power â up $1.50 to close at $49.17
Duke Energy â up $.77 to close at $20.56
And the three top coal mining firms:
Peabody Energy â up $3.25 for the week, to close at $58.89
Rio Tinto â up $.52 to close at $468
Arch Coal â up $2.30 to close at $40.16
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