Energy, Mining & Utilities

The Serious Fraud Office today announced an investigation into whether Southern Water deliberately misled the water regulator, Ofwat, about its failure to meet customer service standards. Read More

Phase II of Peru's controversial Camisea gas project has once again run up against opposition from the U.S. government and Senate, which may vote against approving additional Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) funding. Read More

The German utility giant RWE, already under fire for the failure of its subsidiary company Thames Water to stem its unprecedented leak rate, is at the centre of another row over its environmental performance. Read More

Kenneth Lay's sudden death could prove to be an unexpected legal bequest to Jeffrey Skilling, his co-defendant in the landmark Enron Corp. fraud case. Read More

Kenneth Lay's death robs us all of justice and, let's face it, schadenfreude. Read More

The Rev. Jesse Jackson brought his protest of BP PLC to the site of one of the state's worst refinery accidents Tuesday to speak against what he calls price gouging, discriminatory hiring practices and unsafe working conditions at the company. Read More

France has a long history of uprisings, but the latest social group to rebel was not previously known as troublesome - shareholders.France's traditional brand of capitalism - dominated by a small elite with strong links to politicians - ensured that government-backed managers called the shots and shareholders suffered in silence.But in recent months there has been a whiff of revolution in the air, and some boardrooms have looked like Bastilles ripe for storming by angry investors. Read More

The Chilean government has granted Endesa, a Spanish corporation, permission to carry out exploratory studies in the south of the country for the purpose of building four hydroelectric plants, in a move opposed by environmentalists, who are planning several demonstrations. Read More

The Ontario-based mineral company Platinex has slapped the Ojibwa of Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug (Big Trout Lake) First Nation (KIFN) with a $10-billion damage suit for refusing the company permission to drill on territory the KIFN says is its own. Read More

Children in the Queensland mining capital of Mount Isa have been put at risk by fallout from the city's copper and lead smelters because the state Government has failed to routinely test for lead poisoning. Read More