Release: 5376-07

For Release: August 30, 2007

District of Columbia Federal Court Orders McGraw-Hill to Comply with Commodity Futures Trading Commission Subpoena and to Produce Documents of Commodity Index Provider Platts in Energy Investigation

McGraw-Hill Compelled for the Fourth Time to Comply with CFTC Subpoenas for Documents Relating to Platts’ Calculation of Its Price Indices

Washington, DC – The United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced that United States District Court Judge Ricardo M. Urbina in the District of Columbia entered an order on August 27, 2007, compelling the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. (McGraw-Hill) to produce certain disputed energy-related documents requested in an administrative subpoena issued by the CFTC to McGraw-Hill in December 2006. McGraw-Hill’s refusal to produce certain responsive documents resulted in the CFTC’s April 26, 2007, filing of an application in the District of Columbia to enforce the subpoena.

The subpoena was issued as part of the CFTC’s non-public investigation into whether or not traders at a certain energy company manipulated or attempted to manipulate the price of physical natural gas at the Houston Ship Channel (HSC) natural gas delivery location, and submitted trade data reflecting manipulated prices to Platts, a division of McGraw-Hill, for use in calculating the index prices of natural gas published by Platts in its monthly Inside FERC’s Gas Market Report, in order to benefit the energy company’s financial trading positions “tied to the very same index.”

The CFTC subpoena sought, and the court ordered McGraw-Hill to produce, among other things, documents concerning Platts’ receipt and use of the energy company’s trade data in calculating the Inside FERC price indices that Platts disseminates.

The court’s ruling marks the fourth time that McGraw-Hill has been compelled by a federal court, overcoming McGraw-Hill’s claim of privilege, to comply with CFTC subpoenas directed to McGraw-Hill for similar documents relating to three different energy companies. See CFTC v. McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 390 F. Supp.2d 27 (D.D.C. 2005); CFTC v. Whitney, 441 F. Supp.2d 61 (D.D.C. 2006); and CFTC v. Bradley, et al., Case No. 05-cv-62, 2006 WL 2045847 (N.D.Okla. July 20, 2006).

The CFTC staff members responsible for this motion include: Kim Bruno, Anne Termine, Charlotte Ohlmiller, James Deacon, Kathleen Banar, Rick Glaser, and Richard Wagner.

Media Contacts
Ianthe Zabel
202-418-5080

Dennis Holden
202-418-5088

Last Updated: August 30, 2007