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.…

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…

Shares of Patriot Coal Corp. surged Wednesday as investors looked past a fourth-quarter loss, partially caused by production interruptions at two West Virginia mines, and focused on an increasingly tight global coal market, which is helping lift U.S. prices for…

Shares of Peabody Energy Corp. fell Thursday after the coal producer reported fourth-quarter profit that fell short of Wall Street estimates.

Net income at St. Louis-based Peabody fell 80 percent to $35.8 million, or 13 cents a share, from $175…

FROM WIRE REPORTS

Peabody Energy Corp. this morning reported that its fourth-quarter profit dropped 79.5 percent as its earnings were hurt by the spin off of Patriot Coal Corp.

The St. Louis-based company reported a profit of $35.8 million, or…