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State and municipal governments, struggling with sinking revenue, are raising money by levying fees on consumers, slapping local businesses with back taxes and tweaking tax laws in ways that force many businesses to pay more. That is leading to accusations -- and, in some cases, lawsuits -- that governments are trying to rake in more money without officially raising taxes, sometimes illegally. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors, which can't easily raise taxes without a referendum, has approved a controversial cigarette "fee" of 20 cents a pack that takes effect next month. Last week, five retailing groups sued New York...

A coalition of water users filed a notice Thursday stating its intent to file a lawsuit alleging that power plants are harming fish in the troubled Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. The four water districts allege that Mirant Corp.'s natural gas-fired power plants in Antioch and Pittsburg are harming species including the delta smelt. The smelt's decline triggered a recent federal court decision that was expected to limit the amount of water available from the delta for people and farmers, including those served by the Belridge, Berrenda Mesa, Lost Hills, and Wheeler Ridge-Maricopa water districts. The plaintiffs say that Mirant's power plants...

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - U.S.-based electricity producer Mirant Corp. (NYSE:MIR - News) has begun seeking bids for its multi-billion dollar power plants in the Philippines, sources familiar with the matter said on Wednesday. Mirant has sent out a short sale document on the asset to potential bidders, including some Japanese firms and financial investors, the sources, who asked not to be identified, told Reuters. Mirant is selling its ownership interest in three generating facilities in the Philippines -- in Sual, Pagbilao and Ilijan -- that account for 2,203 MW in generating capacity. Banking sources say the Philippine asset, estimated by some...

While bankruptcy is almost always the end of the line for common-equity shareholders, sometimes the companies themselves re-emerge with a new lease on life. Although airlines seem to habitually dip in and out of bankruptcy, other companies in fields such as telecommunications, retail, and power generation have made something of themselves on the other side of Chapter 11. On which side of the fence will independent power producer Mirant (NYSE: MIR - News) find itself? Having spent nearly three years in bankruptcy, the company emerged 70 days ago with a cleaner balance sheet and, hopefully, a better operating plan. Because...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 1 - America's corporate chieftains would prefer that Enron just go away. But four years after the company's ignominious collapse, Enron's former top executives are about to head to a climactic criminal trial later this month, serving as a reminder that changes in the behavior of many American companies have been more muted than many once expected. Despite an array of new and expensive laws and regulations that were adopted to tighten corporate oversight after the wave of scandals earlier in the decade, serious accounting problems continue to trouble publicly owned companies. In the last year, a record...

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Electricity producer Mirant Corp. (Other OTC:MIRKQ.PK - News) said on Tuesday that it had emerged from bankruptcy protection after two-and-a-half years and secured $2.35 billion in financing. The Atlanta-based company, which converted more than $6 billion of debt and liabilities into equity under its reorganization, had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in July 2003 after failing to reach a deal with creditors to restructure its debts. Last month, power producer Calpine Corp. (Other OTC:CPNLQ.PK - News), filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, listing debts of $22.5 billion against $26.6 billion in assets. Mirant, which owns or...

Term sheet paves way for company's emergence from bankruptcy ATLANTA, Sept. 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Mirant Corporation (Pink Sheets: MIRKQ - News) announced today that it has reached an agreement with a number of the key constituencies in its Chapter 11 case regarding the terms upon which it will emerge from bankruptcy protection.The deal sets forth the modifications that Mirant will make to its currently pending Plan of Reorganization (POR) filed in March of this year, and the terms on which the constituencies will support and recommend the amended POR's confirmation. Parties to the accord include the company, all three of...

FORT WORTH - U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Michael Lynn gave holders of Mirant Corp. common stock some hope that they can share in the distribution of assets of the bankrupt Atlanta energy company. In a ruling, Lynn said financial models of the reorganized company should be changed to reflect values greater than the range of $7 billion to $8.3 billion. Mirant's common shareholders have said that the power generator, which went into bankruptcy in July 2003, is worth as much as $13.7 billion. That figure, unlike the lower number offered by Mirant, would allow common shareholders to receive some of the...

Expert Testifies that up to $1.74 Billion Available for Shareholder Recovery FORT WORTH, Texas, June 28 /PRNewswire/ -- The Mirant Shareholder Rights Group LLC supports expert testimony presented by Anders Maxwell, Equity Committee's witness, during Mirant's valuation hearing, which concluded yesterday. The expert testified that inaccuracies in the Blackstone Group ("Blackstone") valuation report prepared for Mirant Corporation ("Mirant") (OTC: MIRKQ - News) masked at least $1.74 billion of value in its business plan forecasts and used improper methodologies to undervalue its domestic and foreign cash flows. Using Blackstone's own valuation method with accurate and current figures, Mr. Maxwell demonstrated to...

ATLANTA, June 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Mirant Corp. (MIRKQ) and the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors of Mirant Corp. (the "Mirant Corp. Committee") in its bankruptcy proceeding announced that they have filed a lawsuit against Mirant's former parent company, Southern Company (NYSE: SO - News), seeking recovery of at least $2 billion in connection with transfers made to Southern prior to Southern's spin-off of Mirant in April 2001. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas, in Ft. Worth, where Mirant's Chapter 11 reorganization case is being heard by the Honorable Judge D. Michael...

Atlanta's bankrupt Mirant Corp. approved another round of executive bonuses this week, agreeing to dole out more than $1.8 million to five executives. That payout is in addition to the $2 million in salaries those executives will be paid this year and does not include an $850,000 bonus previously approved for company Chief Executive Officer Marce Fuller. The year's biggest bonus will go to Chief Financial Officer M. Michele Burns, who will get $686,100 on top of her $600,000 annual salary. Burns joined Mirant from Delta Air Lines, where she was among executives involved in a controversial bonus and pension...

SAN FRANCISCO -- Carly Fiorina's ouster from Hewlett-Packard Co. on Wednesday wasn't totally unexpected, but for some it was a disturbing end to an otherwise encouraging chapter in U.S. women's corporate progress. The number of Fortune 500 companies with female chief executives declined 12.5 percent Wednesday, from eight to seven, according to the nonprofit Catalyst Inc., which tracks women in business. And it will shrink again soon, with the pending resignation of Marce Fuller at independent power producer Mirant Corp. "It's a shame it's a woman CEO, because it could influence people to think that opportunities for women are on...

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - The Commodity Futures Trading Commission said Tuesday it has filed civil lawsuits against 15 natural gas traders for reporting false information on deals to industry newsletters in an attempt to manipulate market prices.The traders worked for Enserco Energy, Mirant Americas Energy Marketing (MIRKQ: news, chart, profile) , Cinergy Corp. (CIN: news, chart, profile) , Duke Energy Trading and Marketing (DUK: news, chart, profile) , CMS Field Services (CMS: news, chart, profile) , and Shell (RD: news, chart, profile) affiliate Coral Energy Resources, when they carried out these activities, the commission said in a statement. Concord Energy, a...

The Unsung Heroes of the California Energy Crisis Written by Wayne Lusvardi and Charles Warren Saturday, January 29, 2005 - ChronWatch.com Mirant settlement belies real culprits of California energy crisis The headline “Mirant to Pay $750 Million to Settle California Claims” was splattered across the pages of newspapers on January 14 reporting the Mirant Corporation’s agreement to settle claims that it manipulated power prices during California’s energy crisis in 2000 and 2001. As part of the settlement, the State handed Southern California Edison $101 million, Sempra Energy’s SDG&E $24 million, and PG&E will receive an uncompleted power plant. The settlement...

- Debt would be reduced by more than $5 billion - Mirant Americas Generation would receive a full recovery - All assets and operations would remain intact ATLANTA, Jan. 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Mirant (OTC Pink Sheets: MIRKQ - News) today filed its proposed Plan of Reorganization (the "Plan") and Disclosure Statement, putting into motion a process intended to allow the company to emerge from Chapter 11 protection by mid-year. The documents were filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas, Fort Worth division, where the Honorable D. Michael Lynn is presiding over the case. The Plan...

Energy firm settles suit with state By Dale Kasler -- Bee Staff Writer Published 2:15 am PST Saturday, January 15, 2005 Get weekday updates of Sacramento Bee headlines and breaking news. Sign up here. California officials obtained a $749.7 million energy-crisis refund from a bankrupt power company Friday in an offbeat deal that includes cash, an unfinished power plant and an IOU whose true value is unknown.

Mirant Shares (MIRKQ) took off in morning trading on the eve of a hearing on the Shareholder Committee's proposal to have a meeting to determine the longevity of the Board of Directors and CEO. Volume is over 5 million shares traded with a price high of .49 this morning.

Another energy career capped: Mirant (otc: MIRKQ - news - people ) said Chief Executive S. Marce Fuller will resign from the energy company, which is operating under bankruptcy protection. But she won't go empty-handed: According to a regulatory filing, Fuller will take away $3.4 million in severance pay plus other benefits. The filing does not specifically say when she will quit, or step down from her board seat. Fuller had worked at Mirant since 1992, after positions with Southern Company (nyse: SO - news - people ) and General Electric (nyse: GE - news - people ). Mirant has...

Mirant's Period of Exclusivity Extended 30 DaysATLANTA, Dec. 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Today, Mirant (Pink Sheets: MIRKQ - News) reiterated that it would not make its out-of-market payments to Pepco unless ordered to do so by the Bankruptcy Court or the District Court. Further, Mirant sought to rectify a misperception by stating that no court has ordered it to continue with these payments under its back- to-back agreement with Pepco. On December 15, Judge Michael Lynn, U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas, Fort Worth Division, denied a motion by Pepco that sought to order Mirant to continue making...

WASHINGTON (CBS.MW) -- Mirant Americas Energy Marketing, a subsidiary of Mirant Corp. will pay a $12.5 million civil penalty to settle charges that it tried to manipulate natural gas markets in 2000 and 2001, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission said Monday. From January 2000 through December 2001, Mirant Americas (MIRKQ: news, chart, profile) reported false information on natural gas transactions in order to manipulate indexes compiled by industry newsletters, the CFTC said in its order. The commission also found that between January 2000 and October 2000, Mirant traders located in the West inflated the volumes and prices of trades it...