The big news in the US so far this week is the Obama Administration's proposal to cut carbon emissions. The plan calls for a 30% reduction in emissions from power plants by 2020. A portion of the goal will be met through a reduction of coal-generated power (and a shift to domestically abundant natural gas). Coal provides 39% of the country's electricity but produces 75% of the total emissions. The proposal is certainly going to meet quite a bit of political resistance, especially from major coal producing states. However, the EPA believes these changes will lead to $90 billion in benefits and only cost utilities around $9 billion. From an investment perspective, coal producers stand to lose the most from the proposal, but that's basically been a foregone conclusion ever since the fracking revolution began in earnest. (VIEW LINK)