In Soros mold, ex-Enron gas trade whiz Arnold turns giver

HOUSTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - To the list of unexpected windfalls created by the boom in shale gas production, add one more: The full-time philanthropy of billionaire trader John Arnold.

HOUSTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - To the list of unexpected windfalls created by the boom in shale gas production, add one more: The full-time philanthropy of billionaire trader John Arnold.

As part of our series looking at the future of American energy, The Financialist spoke to Osmar Abib, global head of Credit Suisse’s oil and gas investment banking group, about the rise of natural gas production in the U.S., thanks in large part to the development of shale gas fields.    The shale drilling revolution that has allowed natural gas producers to access vast, previously unreachable resources has already had a profound impact on the U.S. energy sector, but what that means for the broader economy and global trade is a larger question.  

Stories dot the media describing shale development as booms that have transformed the economies of North Dakota and Pennsylvania. That broad portrait gets badly wrong the impacts of shale development on the economies of the two states. Simply put, Pennsylvania is not North Dakota. North Dakota has a population of 699,628, while Pennsylvania's is 12,763,536 or about 18 times larger. quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/38000.html and quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/42000.html.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Prominent banks and hedge funds have fled the natural gas market due to the sharp decline in prices but

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Legendary natural gas trader John Arnold is closing down his flagship Centaurus fund, a source said on Wednesday, as the former Enron wunderkind struggled to maintain outsized returns with prices near 10-year lows and regulations tightening. Centaurus, famed for gaining more than 300 percent in 2006 by taking bets opposite to those held by failed rival Amaranth Advisors, will return capital to investors, according to an investor in the fund who said he had received a letter from Arnold earlier on Wednesday. ...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Legendary natural gas trader John Arnold is closing down his flagship Centaurus fund, a source said on Wednesday, as the former Enron wunderkind struggled to maintain outsized returns with prices near 10-year lows and regulations tightening.

From today's WSJ staff editorial: