"The Coal Miner 'On Everybody's List' as Next Bankruptcy Victim"

"Plummeting coal prices have pushed almost half the debt issued by U.S. coal companies into default, and for miners and their investors there’s no end in sight.

Patriot Coal Corp., Walter Energy Inc. and Alpha Natural Resources Inc. have all filed for bankruptcy in the past year. Now that Arch Coal Inc., the second largest coal miner in the U.S., has joined their ranks, investors are wondering if the biggest, Peabody Energy Corp., could be next.

Peabody’s shares have been sliced roughly in half since Arch filed for Chapter 11 on Jan. 11, closing at $3.38 Wednesday. The company’s 6.5 percent unsecured bonds have lost 27 percent, or 3.1 cents on the dollar, over the same period, most recently trading on Jan. 14 at 8.6 cents and yielding 99 percent, according to Trace, the bond-price reporting system of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority."

Jodi Xu Klein and Tim Loh report for Bloomberg January 20, 2016.

SEE ALSO:

"Peabody Sells Stake In Illinois Power Plant For Fraction Of Investment" (McClatchy)

"S.E.C. Is Criticized for Lax Enforcement of Climate Risk Disclosure" (New York Times)