Coal firms Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU), Alpha Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE:ANR), Massey Energy Co. (NYSE:MEE) and Consol Energy Inc. (NYSE:CNX) all plummeted in Wednesday's trading, as economic data continue to confirm we remain in a recession, with little hope of exiting it anytime soon.
Consol Energy could come under even more pressure, not only because of their coal exposure, but their natural gas exposure, which would be under pressure because of enormous supply, whether there was a recession or not.
With stimulus money leaving the economy, its naked state has again been exposed, and it is as weak as ever, putting pressure on providers of energy and raw materials.
Following on the footsteps of the horrid figures for house sales yesterday, new data showed the sales of new homes also plunged, down 12 percent, from June. That would put sales at the lowest level since statistics have been kept - 276,000 annually.
There is no doubt the slowdown will continue, and companies and investors should respond to that accordingly.
After all, if about $1 trillion in stimulus can do absolutely nothing to change the economy, adding another $1 trillion won't either, and it would be foolish and criminal to place that over the heads of the American people, as some are calling for the Federal Reserve and government to do.
While Arch Coal (NYSE:ACI) also fell in price, and exception was Patriot coal (NYSE:PCX), who managed to end Wednesday's trading session at $10.60, gaining $0.21, or 2.02 percent.
The only news there was Patriot's president and chief operating officer, Paul H. Vining, was stepping down.
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