Enron Near Collapse After Dynegy Pulls Out

Reuters ^ | 28 Nov 01 | C. Bryson Hull

[RightWhale]

Just another version of the story. This event is probably economically significant.

[RCW2001]

I am still amazed at how fast it fell.

If you had asked me a year ago what was morely likely, jets flying into WTC or Enron filing bankruptcy...I would have chosen the WTC.

Enron Corp. was very good to me in the 90's...sad to see her go.

[ramdalesh]

Several questions.

What forms of energy does (did) Enron specialize in, ie. Oil, Coal, Uranium, Electricity, Hydrogen etc., or is this huge stock company a merely a storefront for trading.

All of this legal accounting gobbeldygook is interesting, but what does it mean?

Is this going to open a new market to foriegn energy companies in America?

Is this going to open a market for a new energy product, such as Hydrogen?

Could this event, or any event like it lead to stronger International Business Regulations?
I know this is a tough question, but Energy is a resource that is not easily Governed by a small greedy nation state.

[Cicero]

I still don't understand what's going on. Enron was a solid company, and none of these articles explains what the devil happened. How could their accountants have failed to notice fraud or mismanagement on such a huge scale?

[RightWhale]

What is Enron [ENE] anyway?

Business Description:

Provides products and services related to natural gas, electricity and communications to wholesale and retail customers;

markets risk management and finance services worldwide;

develops power plants, pipelines and delivers high bandwidth communications

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It appears to be some kind of contractor/broker. Kind of a management company. Works in the less well-lighted areas of business. A paper company.

[Timesink]

I think the most important question of all is: What are the current balance sheets of every individual employed at Enron above middle-management? If those guys are walking away from their mismanaged and/or fraudulently-managed company with multi-million-dollar net worths, they need to be individually sued to within an inch of their lives.

[staytrue]

the loss of 90 billion in paper value means the us shareholders are minus 90 billion in wealth. I think the stimulus program that is stalled in the us senate is less than that. 90 billion is about 300 dollars for every man woman and child in the US. It is larger than the tax rebates that were received last summer. Yes, it probably is economically significant.

[Voltage]

The absolutely stupid ads Enron was running on TV for the past year is all anyone would have to know that they were heading for disaster.

[Jalapeno]

I work at Enron and today was an incredible day. Watching such a huge firm implode before my eyes was quite an experience. I had been there only 2.5 years, and did not have too much invested in the company. People who were there 5years probably lost $500,000 in retirement assets if they did not diversify, and I have heard stories of 15-20yr employees who have humped their whole lives lose around $2 million.

What went wrong? From my perspective, Enron's top most management were involved in a four-year scandelous program of misrepresentation, deciet, dishonesty, and criminal behavior while espousing the "Enron Values" of Integrity, Respect, Communication, and Excellence, and pontificating and diaplaying huge arrogance and smugness to everyone in general. Many corporate mind-numbed robots bought the line and firmly still believed in the leadership of the company till about two weeks ago when it really began to unravel. Today, there are still people that feel it will 'turn itself around'.

With 23,000 employees worldwide and $15+ billion in unpaid bills (with less that $2 billion in cash), countless deals with large counterparties/utilities/producers, our economy is going to take a huge it. No doubt about it.

[ramdalesh]

Who is to be held accountible?

What type of policy directive could effectively hold individuals responsible for the crimes that are comitted by their companies?

Who "bumped them off"?

[Lanza]

My husband just started at Enron 2 1/2 months ago. It was the dream job he had been waiting for (previous company 11 years). Two weeks before, 20/20 did a thing on employers that make the work environment so inviting, you can't wait to go (some people couldn't wait to go to get away from their kids which was awful), and Enron in Houston was one of the featured companies. Needless to say it's been a shock, but like you, we luckily don't have our retirement invested in Enron. I told my husband it reminds me of Gordon Gecko in the movie Wall Street. Remember the line "Greed is good"?

[RightWhale]

On site reporter describing the action at the parapets. Awesome report.

[RightWhale]

Who "bumped them off"?

Live by oil/gas futures, die by oil/gas futures.

[Abbalon]

Timesink, you have hit the nail on the head. Corporate exectutives have been robbing companies blind with their golden parachutes.

[is_is]

It appears to be some kind of contractor/broker

They are the Natural Gas Utility in my town. They bought Entex(the old Gas utility) several years ago.

[Jalapeno]

BTW, What employees have been told is to show up to work in the morning, and that they will be paid on Friday (a regular payday). Nothing more has been said. Look for Chapter 11 real soon.

Understand, though, Chapter 11 does not save Enron like it does, say a furniture concern or other physical retailer. Enron lives (and has died) on their credit rating. The movement to junk status for their bonds today sent them over the abyss, from which there is no return. No one wants to od multi-million dollar deals with someone who will not pay up.

[Citizen of the Savage Nation]

My goodness...what are we going to call that ballpark where the Houston Astros play, from now on??

[is_is]

I also recall reading that they got HEAVY into the fiber optic business and how the fiber optic industry was in a free fall due to over supply and everyone cutting prices...

[Pining_4_TX]

Enron has always been a somewhat shady, sleazy company. When that one CEO quit suddenly after only a month or two on the job (ostensibly because he wanted to spend more time with his family!), it was apparent that there was more to it than that. He must have seen what was going on and wanted to leave before the "bin laden" hit the fan.

[Jalapeno]

Enron made deals with both producers and suppliers of commodities. These producers/suppliers are risk adverse and would rather give up the upside of a commodity price to stave off any downside possibilities. Enron would then make other deals with speculators who are willing to take the risk off our hands. For the core commodities, this was done on a global scale. This was a VERY profitable business ($101 billion in revenue last year).

Bread and butter was Gas and Power, also did deals in Paper, pulp, lumber. water, bandwidth (one of the things that killed them), weather(temp and rain). equities, trucking cargo space, metals crude and refined products, currencies, ...the list was endless.