Corporate Research Needs a Fix, Says Investment Banker Matt Simmons in World Energy Article.

Energy Editors/Business Editors

HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 28, 2003

A reliance on "skin-deep research" was the prime factor in the recent loss of trillions by investors who were misled. Worse, the lack of good research is now destroying trust in the capitalist free-market system, according to Matt Simmons' new article in World Energy magazine.

The institutional research system must be fixed to restore trust in the equity markets, writes Simmons, but it will take changes by the research firms themselves, by the corporations being researched, and by the money managers who typically purchase and use the research to advise their clients. The article can be viewed at WorldEnergySource.com.

"Too often, firms that produce shoddy to poor research get paid as much or more than those firms that do first-rate work," he writes. In the same issue, Dominion's outspoken CEO, Thos. E. Capps, bluntly recommends jail terms for Enron executives.

"The corporate bad actors who did this need 15 to 20 years of free room and board - in a federal rest home," he writes, referring to executives who defrauded investors with accounting shell games.

In recounting a business deal between Enron and Dominion in 1988, Capps said because the Enron people thought they were "smarter than mere mortals, they didn't have to play by the rules."

Also in the new issue, the head of OPEC and the Saudi Arabian oil minister defend their oil policies, insisting they want to keep crude oil prices stable enough to attract investment to ensure continued supplies.

California Gov. Gray Davis takes on the opposition in his new article about the California energy crisis. He blames faulty legislation for allowing unscrupulous traders to manipulate the system while FERC regulators did nothing.

World Energy and Energy Houston magazines, plus World Energy Television, are uniquely dedicated to providing an unedited forum for the leadership of the global energy industry. These media are the original voice of the industry, and the only source for commentary and opinion from top energy executives worldwide.

At WorldEnergySource.com, all previous magazine articles and videos can be accessed, as well as daily news items, corporate profiles, over 50 stock exchanges, commodity prices and links to major energy companies. It's all translatable into seven languages, and key-worded and indexed. Registration on the Web site is free.