Energy companies face up to clearing requirements

Elimination of a catch-all clearing exemption in US financial reform legislation looks like bad news for big energy companies – the industry warns mandatory derivatives clearing will do untold harm. Peter Madigan reports

Energy, as any high school science student can tell you, cannot be created or destroyed – it can only be converted from one form to another. Dealers are now anxious that financial reform legislation on the cusp of being passed in the US Congress has the potential to convert a dynamic energy derivatives market into a far more inert one.

The congressional conference committee appointed to reconcile