Allegheny Energy (AYE) missed the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate of $0.44 by three cents in the second quarter of fiscal 2009. The company also fell short of the year-ago EPS by four cents due to lower industrial demand and output from coal-based units. Coal-based units utilized 14% lower capacity during the quarter compared to the prior-year period.

Headquartered in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, Allegheny Energy is engaged in both regulated electricity and natural gas distribution utility operations as well as in unregulated wholesale energy markets. The company operates through two business segments: the low margin Delivery & Services and the high margin Generation & Marketing.

The Delivery & Services unit consists of three regulated electric utilities, which operate electric transmission and distribution systems and a natural gas distribution system. This segment provides electricity to 1.6 million customers in Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland and West Virginia.

The Generation & Marketing division comprises

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Columbus, Ohio-based American Electric Power Company, Inc. (AEP) beat the Zacks Consensus estimate of $0.61 by seven cents in its fiscal second quarter with EPS of $0.68. However, this was lower than the year-over-year EPS of $0.70 due to dilutive issuance in April to alleviate its debt load.   Ongoing earnings rose by $41 million year over year to $321 million from $280 million in the year-ago quarter. The upside came from higher rates and improvements in the cost structure, offsetting lower demand from industrial customers. Higher rates in Virginia, Indiana, Oklahoma and Ohio -- along with authorization to recover fuel costs in Ohio -- were the triggers in the quarter.

Volumes were more than a fifth lower in the industrial segment over the year-ago period, as softer economy has reduced the industrial volumes across the nation. Other utilities like Constellation Energy Group (CEG) and Dominion Resources (D),

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Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc (NYSE:BRK.A) is finally starting to offload its 20% stake in ratings agency Moody’s Corporation (NYSE.MCO).

Here are listed sales in the filing, courtesy of 24/7WallStreet.com:

· 7/20/09… 1,817,000 at $28.7269 average in open market sale.

· 7/21/09… 3,915,100 at $26.9188 average in open market sale.

· 7/22/09… 2,254,200 at $26.6425 average in open market sale.

What took Buffett so long to start selling Moody’s? We have no idea. Moody’s runs one of the biggest scams on Wall Street. It charges the companies whose securities it rates (just like Standard & Poor’s and Fitch also do).

So what do you think these ratings agencies did when presented with a whole load of junk mortgage-backed securities to rate? They assigned them investment grade status and pocketed the cash.

If these ratings agencies had instead acted honestly and responsibly (rather than pimping

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Warren Buffet has shown the prowess of his trading strategy once again. Not only did he walk away with over $1.5 billion in his pocket earlier this week, but now his prized investment in Coca-Cola (NYSE:CCE) is jumping in value.

Warren Buffet continues to show investors why his name is consistently at the top of the list of richest Americans. The man makes deals that simply work, no matter what happens in the industry or economy surrounding him.

Take this week’s news as a prime example. Buffet wanted to diversify into the nuclear-power industry, so he offered to buy Constellation Energy Group (NYSE:CEG) for $4.7 billion. It was a pretty low bid and drew plenty of criticism from shareholders.

But most importantly, it drew bids from other competitors.

Shortly after Buffet made his bid, French utility giant Electricite de France stepped in and made an offer for just 50% of

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How to Beat Warren Buffett at His Own Game

This morning, Electricité de France (EPA: EDF) made another attempt to purchase Constellation Energy Group (NYSE: CEG). EDF’s new offer of $52 a share for half of the company is almost as much as MidAmerican Energy -Warren Buffett’s subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A) - paid for the entire company in September.

His $4.7 billion deal for Constellation - about what it cost to build one nuclear reactor - bought him three nuclear plants and 75 power-generating units. CEG jumped 12% this morning to over $28.

Buffett has been on a buying spree of U.S. equities over the past few months. And he even wrote an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal to support why. But before today, CEG was trading below his purchase price. And it’s not the only one.

A $3 billion investment in General Electric (NYSE: GE)

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We have made available to readers of the Navivest Stocks and Options blog, today’s issue of our subscription based options trading advisory service, The Options Capitalist. It is an options trade on Constellation Energy Group (CEG). To download a copy, click here.

 Tags: Options Trade  Constellation Energy

Okay, so the market is pretty much chaos right now. There isn't anyone who won't argue that. Will Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley survive? I don't know. But does it matter at this point? We're about out of investment banks now. Truth be told, some clear thinking would help everyone right now. Who isn't frustrated? But its times like these, believe it or not, when the money is MADE. In case anyone didn't notice Warren Buffett picked up Constellation Energy Group for $26.50 per share. It traded at nearly $70 last week. Nice job, Warren.In the aftermath of this crisis, you're going to have many people who will be very apprehensive with their brokers. A lot of people. These people are going to look at who got them into things like mortgage-back securities for investments, ...

Axial Vector Engine Corporation is well known for their unique electric engine and internal combustion engine technologies. They have a reputation for their strength, durability and fuel efficiency, similarly the company’s Advisory Board has a well known reputation. The Advisory Board is comprised of distinguished senior executives who use their extensive experience and expertise in the industry to provide in-depth analysis regarding the strategic development of potential applications that utilize the company’s revolutionary new technologies.

The Chairman of the AVEC Advisory Board is Dr. Jack Walter, a long time engineer by trade with ties in the energy and manufacturing industries. Dr. Walter received his BS degree in Chemical Engineering, Summa Cum Laude, from the University of Florida, and his MS and PhD from the University of Pittsburgh. Having graduated with such an advanced education, he brings a wealth of knowledge

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If you are looking for alternative energy oriented 'green' stocks, but you like high yields, you can actually find a combination of both. The following are a group of stocks involved in alternative energy in some way, such as wind power or solar energy or ethanol. They all pay dividends. PG&E Corp. (PCG) This California-based electric and gas utility serves 5 million customers. Their electrical generation comes from natural gas, nuclear, hydro, coal, geothermal, wind, and several other types of renewable sources. The P/E is 15 and the PEG is 1.91. The stock yields 4%. IdaCorp, Inc. (IDA) This holding company owns Idaho Power Company, which is involved in the generation, transmission, distribution, and sale of electric energy primarily in southern Idaho and eastern Oregon. Their electrical generation comes from hydroelectric, natural gas, diesel, coal, and geothermal plants. Geothermal is now considered a hot source energy. The P/E ...