?Bear Stearns fall-out. “I think what you can count on is that there will be a number of lawsuits being filed by unhappy shareholders and by unhappy employees,” says Steve Landry, partner and head of corporate finance for Pritchard Capital Partners LLC.
“A lot of Bear Stearns employees may have margined their own stock to make other investments or purchases. They now have to make good on those margin loans. Unfortunately, a lot of people are going to be hurt in the process. It’s going to be years before this is sorted out.”
“Most investment bankers enjoy a competitive environment,” says Landry. “Although it is such a large and wide and deep industry, it is still a rather close-knit community, and we don’t like to see even our hardiest competitors under these kinds of circumstances. We enjoy competing; we hopefully win more than we lose, but at the end of the day, we all work together.
“So you never like to see people fall under these kinds of circumstances that are so far beyond their current control.” JS

Enlighten the press. Robert R. Firth, president and chief executive of Atlas Pipeline Mid-Continent, is mad, and he doesn’t want to take it anymore. “We get bad press all the time about high oil prices, pay rates and gasoline prices,” he says, “even though producers, midstream companies and refiners don’t control the markets. We don’t set the prices.”
The media report that salaries and bonuses awarded to major oil companies’ chief executives may seem too high. But comparing those salaries with those of top athletes, actors and singers tells a different story, he says.
“The U.S. consumes 20% of the world’s oil, but only makes 4% of world supply. U. S. energy executives must be compensated to keep talent in the energy industry.”
With regard to gasoline: “We run supply and demand on a narrow edge, and we have to import some to meet demand.” He notes that, while U.S. consumers think the price of gasoline is high, it should be volumetrically compared to bottled water and less necessary luxuries like I-pods, cable television and teen-agers’ cell-phone bills which, he says, can run into hundreds of dollars per month.
Energy industry professionals should make an effort to learn about the business and educate others, he says. Good resources are the IPAA, EIA, TRRC and OERB. “Be an advocate for this industry. Be an entrepreneur and create jobs.” JS
Follow the soccer mom. At the recently held Midstream Development & Management conference in Houston, Robert R. Firth, president and chief executive of Atlas Pipeline Mid-Continent, proposed seven “hallucinogenic ideas” to reduce high gasoline prices and promote domestic energy production and efficiency.
“One, let’s eliminate the federal tax on gasoline.
“Two, let’s eliminate the state production tax.
“Three, the government should incentivize scientists to find a way to neutralize nuclear waste.
“Four, we should forgive the debt of the first car company to mass-produce 100-mile-per-gallon cars.
“Five, stop advertising gasoline prices at every gas station on great big billboards. If people want to know which station has the cheapest gas, just follow the soccer mom’s SUV. She knows where the cheapest gas is.
“Six, drill in deep water offshore California and Florida. People don’t want to see rigs? Fine, you can’t see deepwater rigs from shore.
“Seven, incentivize all federal employees to save 1% from their spending budgets. That will pay for the tax cuts and incentives.”