PCX Patriot Coal Corp.

Coal stocks had a poor February as demand fundamentals continue to struggle. The Market Vectors-Coal ETF (KOL) -- which replicates an index that provides exposure to publicly traded companies worldwide that derive greater than 50% of their revenues from the coal industry -- sank around 1.2 percent last month to underperform the market. The Paragon Report examines the outlook for companies in the coal industry and provides equity research on James River Coal Company (NASDAQ: JRCC) and Patriot Coal Corporation (NYSE: PCX). Access to the full company reports can be found at:

www.paragonreport.com/JRCC

www.paragonreport.com/PCX

Analysts at Credit Suisse (CS) recently issued a report to clients arguing that thermal coal providers are likely to continue to see soft market conditions. Low natural gas prices, EPA ruling delays and disappointing coal burn levels remain near-term headwinds, CS says.

On the upside, Credit Suisse provided a favorable outlook for metallurgical coal prices. Global steel production appears to be resilient, CS says. Also, domestic production cuts of Eastern met coal should prove supportive to market pricing.

The Paragon Report provides investors with an excellent first step in their due diligence by providing daily trading ideas, and consolidating the public information available on them. For more investment research on the coal industry register with us free at www.paragonreport.com and get exclusive access to our numerous stock reports and industry newsletters.

Patriot Coal Corporation engages in the mining, production, and sale of thermal coal primarily to electricity generators in the eastern United States. It has operations and coal reserves in the Appalachia and the Illinois Basin coal regions. Last month the company reported that it received four awards for exemplary restoration of surface mined lands.

James River Coal Company mines, processes and sells bituminous, steam- and industrial-grade coal through six operating subsidiaries (mining complexes) located throughout eastern Kentucky and in southern Indiana. Shares of the company slipped more than 10 percent in February.

The Paragon Report has not been compensated by any of the above-mentioned publicly traded companies. Paragon Report is compensated by other third party organizations for advertising services. We act as an independent research portal and are aware that all investment entails inherent risks. Please view the full disclaimer at http://www.paragonreport.com/disclaimer

Add to Digg Bookmark with del.icio.us Add to Newsvine