The World's Largest Coal Company Just Filed For Bankruptcy
by The Daily Eye Team April 15 2016, 9:49 am Estimated Reading Time: 0 mins, 36 secsThe world's largest coal company filed for bankruptcy Wednesday, citing a "historically challenged" market for its carbon-intensive fuel.
Peabody Energy is the third of the top five US coal producers to seek protection from creditors since 2014. Its Chapter 11 filing lists more than $10.1 billion in debt, and Peabody President Glenn Kellow called the move "the right path forward."
"The factors affecting the global coal industry in recent years have been unprecedented," Kellow said. Cheap, cleaner natural gas is cutting into coal's share of electrical production, and efforts to rein in carbon emissions and head off dangerous levels of global warming are putting more pressure on the business. Kellow also blamed China's economic slowdown for reducing demand.