If you think oil prices are spiraling out of control, take a peek at the stock chart for Patriot Coal Corp. After an 8-percent rally on Friday, Patriot shares surged another 12 percent Monday to close at $120 a share.…

Like most shareholder meetings, yesterday’s Ameren Corp. gathering at the St. Louis Art Museum was short on drama, and news. There was the usual board election, auditor ratification and company overview from Chief Executive Gary L. Rainwater. But his comments during the Q&A…

Shares of Patriot Coal surged more than 20 percent Thursday morning, a day after the coal producer announced an agreement to buy Magnum Coal Co. for $709 million in stock and debt.

The transaction will make the company the second largest coal producer…

Patriot Coal Corp., created last fall in the spinoff from Peabody Energy Corp., on Wednesday said it agreed to purchase rival central Appalachian coal producer Magnum Coal Co. for $709 million in stock and debt.

The combination of the two…

After a furious run-up, coal stocks took a hit Friday when Goldman Sachs issued a report saying coal prices are likely to fall.

U.S. coal stocks have risen 30 percent since mid-January (versus an increase of 3 percent for the Russell 3000) because of  a…

Peabody Energy Corp. CEO Gregory Boyce told an audience at the Cambridge Energy Research Associates conference in Houston that the world’s coal markets are becoming more interconnected as energy demand soars and countries look for alternatives to costlier petroleum.

Boyce was Thursday’s…

Shares of Arch Coal Inc. reached their highest point in a year Friday after the nation’s No. 2 coal producer reported fourth-quarter profit that exceeded Wall Street expectations and forecast record earnings in 2008.

Net income increased to $81.3 million, or…