Former Energy Secretary Rick Perry reveals President-elect Donald Trump’s energy policies in “Claman’s Countdown.”
Energy majors Texas and West Virginia are leading nine other states in an antitrust lawsuit against BlackRock, State Street and Vanguard, alleging they used their voting stock to facilitate “a scheme to cut production that artificially inhibited coal supplies…”
The investment titans allegedly “significantly reduced competition in the coal markets, increased energy prices for American consumers and generated cartel-level profits for (the defendant states),” according to the filing in federal court in Texas.
They argued that their conduct with respect to the shares of the coal companies violated Titles I and VII of the Clayton Act of 1914. The law, drafted by former Rep. Henry Clayton, D-Alabama, regulates unfair business practices, including price-fixing. as well as organized labor protection.
“The defendants are three of the largest institutional investors in the world,” according to documents obtained by Fox News Digital.
GREEN GOVERNANCE IS A NEW EDITION OF MERCANTILISM LEADING TO GLOBAL INSTABILITY: KEVIN ROBERTS
A statue of a miner in the center of Miners Memorial Park in Lynch, Kentucky, on August 13, 2019. (Reuters/Charles Mostoller/Reuters Photos)
“Each defendant individually acquired significant equity interests in every major publicly traded coal producer in the United States. Thus, each gained the power to influence the policies of these competing companies and lead to a significant reduction in competition in the coal markets. And each used their power to effect a substantial reduction in competition in the coal markets.’
The filing states that the firms have announced their commitment in 2021 to use shares to pressure the management of portfolio companies to “meet netzero targets”.
He also accused the three companies of facilitating a “production cut scheme” to “artificially limit” coal supplies and the market.
UNITED OPPOSITION TO NIPPON-US STEEL TAKEOVER HAS SUCCEEDED, EXPERT SAYS
Navajo Coal Power Plant near Page, Arizona. (plus49/Construction Photography/Avalon/Getty Images)
The filing included a chart of the three firms’ total stakes in top coal companies, with Peabody Energy’s 30% stake the largest.
A top law enforcement official and governor-elect of the nation’s most prominent coal-mining state said the allegations in the lawsuit show the companies’ investment power is being used to push an environmental climate agenda and force people into ideological compliance.
“These companies should only be maximizing returns for investors, not working to advance their radical climate change agenda by using their holdings and putting pressure on America’s energy companies,” said West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrissey, who suggested his state could suffer directly from the action alleged.
Coal-fired power plants would account for nearly 90% of the Mountaineers’ electricity generation in 2022, Morrissey said in a statement.
The West Virginia Mineworkers Health and Safety Authority reported that 55,000 West Virginians were employed in coal mines in 2023.
The court was led by Texas, as well as Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska and Wyoming.
“Texas will not tolerate the illegal weaponization of the financial industry to carry out a destructive, politicized ‘environmental’ agenda,” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said, Politico reported Monday.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS PROGRAM
The West Virginia Welcome sign greets travelers exiting the East River Mountain Tunnel from Virginia on Interstate 77 northbound near Princeton, West Virginia. (Fox News/Charles Kreutz) (Fox News)
“BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street formed a cartel to rig the coal market, artificially reduce energy supplies, and drive up prices. Their conspiracy harmed US energy production and consumers. This is a staggering violation of state and federal law.”
“Americans think that if they entrust their hard-earned savings to Wall Street firms, those firms will seek profits, not radical environmental goals,” he added. Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall.
A spokesman for Boston’s State Street said the firm “acts in the long-term financial interests of investors with an emphasis on increasing shareholder value.”
“As providers of long-term capital, we have a mutual interest in the long-term success of our portfolio companies. This lawsuit is without merit and we look forward to presenting the facts through the legal process.”
Fox News Digital reached out to Valley Forge, Pennsylvania-based Vanguard and New York-based BlackRock, but did not hear back by press time. But in a statement to Reuters, BlackRock said any suggestions it invested in coal producers to hurt them were “baseless and contrary to common sense. The lawsuit undermines Texas’ business reputation and discourages investment in companies that consumers rely on.” “.
BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street together manage more than $26 trillion in assets.
