Reuters first with report on SemGroup Collapse
04.15.2009
Reuters was the first to report on April 15 the results of an investigation by former FBI head Louis Freeh into bankrupt energy trader SemGroup’s collapse, showing the CEO’s bets on risky oil brought down the company. The report, which alleged fraud against the CEO Tom Kivisto, showed that he had made a big bet on naked put options in crude oil last summer as oil prices headed up to $150 a barrel. Reuters first headline on the report beat a report in Tulsa World by almost 40 minutes, and was nearly three hours ahead of a Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review story. Reuters also brought in key details about Semgroup’s option trading that resonated with energy traders. Bloomberg, Dow Jones Newswires and the Wall Street Journal were all a day behind.
