Feb 21 (Reuters) – Chesapeake Energy Corp reported
sharply higher results on Tuesday as the second largest U.S.
producer of natural gas profited from hedging contracts to sell
the fuel at higher prices.

Natural gas prices are near the lowest level in a decade on
oversupply. Chesapeake has taken profits in all of its natural
gas hedges to boost its bottom line and the company currently
has no gas hedges in place, leaving some investors to fret about
its exposure to low prices.

HOUSTON (Reuters) – Defense lawyers made a case for Allen Stanford’s innocence on Friday in a courtroom filled with people who said he had stolen millions of dollars of their savings.

Some two dozen investors were at the federal courthouse in Houston to mark the third anniversary of the government closure of Stanford Financial Group in February 2009.

By Matt Daily and Anna Driver

(Reuters) – Chesapeake Energy Corp (CHK.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) said it will sell $10 billion to $12 billion in assets as decade-low natural gas prices force the company to raise cash to cover a shortfall.

The second-largest U.S. natural gas producer has a strategy to increase output from more profitable wells that produce crude oil and natural gas that is rich in liquid content.

HOUSTON, Feb 7 (Reuters) – A former top aide to Texas
financier Allen Stanford said on Tuesday he continued to hide
financial misdeeds as Stanford’s empire was crumbling in early
2009.

James Davis, Stanford’s former chief financial officer, said
he drew up a document in February of that year showing
Stanford’s bank had assets of $6.3 billion, far more than was
the case. This was despite learning in January that U.S.
regulators were about to swoop down on the bank, Davis said.

HOUSTON (Reuters) – Allen Stanford used fake accounting to prop up his offshore bank in its waning days, as withdrawal requests from investors poured in, Stanford’s former top deputy said on Monday.

Faced with a worrying number of withdrawals in 2008, Stanford came up with a plan to make a $600 million capital infusion into the bank, said James Davis, Stanford’s former chief financial officer and the government’s top witness.

HOUSTON (Reuters) – Texas financier Allen Stanford drew on a secret Swiss bank account for personal expenses like yacht maintenance and to pay bribes, the government’s top witness said at Stanford’s fraud trial on Friday.

Stanford, 61, is accused of bilking thousands of investors out of their savings by selling fraudulent certificates of deposit through his bank in the Caribbean. Prosecutors say the $7 billion Ponzi scheme is one of the biggest white collar crimes since Bernard Madoff’s scam. Stanford has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

HOUSTON, Feb 2 (Reuters) – Allen Stanford used fake
insurance and false financial statements to deceive investors
and regulators as he sought to shield his global financial
empire from government scrutiny for more than two decades, his
top deputy said on Thursday

James Davis was testifying at the criminal trial of his
former boss in federal court in Houston. Stanford is accused of
running a $7 billion Ponzi scheme based on fraudulent
certificates of deposit issued by his bank in Antigua.

HOUSTON (Reuters) – Allen Stanford’s former top deputy and college roommate said on Thursday he lied to investors about the health of Stanford’s offshore bank.

James Davis was testifying at the criminal trial of his former boss in federal court in Houston. Stanford is accused of running a $7 billion Ponzi scheme centered on fraudulent certificates of deposit issued by his bank in Antigua.

HOUSTON (Reuters) – Allen Stanford funneled $2 billion of investor money from his offshore bank to pay operating expenses at his other companies, including money-losing airlines and his cricket concerns, a former Stanford Financial Group accountant said on Wednesday.

Stanford, 61, is on trial in federal court in Houston for leading a $7 billion Ponzi scheme from his offshore bank in Antigua in what prosecutors call one of the largest white-collar crimes since Bernard Madoff. The Texas financier has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

HOUSTON (Reuters) – Allen Stanford funneled $2 billion of investor money from his offshore bank to pay operating expenses at his other companies, including money-losing airlines and his cricket concerns, a former Stanford Financial Group accountant said on Wednesday.

Stanford, 61, is on trial in federal court in Houston for leading a $7 billion Ponzi scheme from his offshore bank in Antigua in what prosecutors call one of the largest white-collar crimes since Bernard Madoff. The Texas financier has pleaded not guilty to all charges.