Seeking Alpha: How Did It All Go So Wrong For Patriot Coal?

I imagine a few investors are feeling pretty confused now, with news that Patriot Coal (PCX) has declared bankruptcy. So how is that a company whose assets ought to hold hundreds of millions of dollars worth of net value is going the route of bankruptcy?

Cue The Outrage
It is a pretty safe bet that we'll all hear from the anti-Obama contingent before long, and not without some reason. Notions like "Obama is trying to kill private enterprise" is garbage better suited to talk radio, but the fact remains that the Obama administration has made it meaningfully more difficult to be in the coal business. Whether it's OSHA regulations that cover underground mine operators like Patriot, Arch Coal (ACI), or Alpha Natural Resources (ANR), or EPA regulations that make it more expensive to burn coal for electricity generation, it's not easy to be in the Appalachian coal business (and not all that much better to be in Powder River Basin).

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How Did It All Go So Wrong For Patriot Coal?