Peabody Energy Corp filed for U.S. bankruptcy protection on Wednesday after a sharp drop in coal prices left it unable to service debt of $10.1 billion, much of it incurred for an expansion into Australia. As demand for metallurgical coal fell, particularly in China, Peabody's financial woes intensified. The company took a $700 million write-down on its Australian metallurgical coal assets last year. At home, the U.S. shale boom of the past few years made natural gas competitive with thermal coal, and the Obama administration's environmental regulations raised operational costs. Mr. Peabody's coal train might not be hauling away any more of paradise.
. the hell with hugging a tree for the trees sake. its US we need to worry about. some still dont get that point. and shame on the left for not marketing it this way. the earth aint going anywhere anytime soon. it could get hit with 200 degree heat wave for a year straight. and the round ball we know as the earth would still be spinning. we would be dead and gone. so protecting the earth means nothing. protect your air so you can breath it dummies. or do we want the entire world to look like china?
