Williams Trades Contentious Pipeline for Cash Payoff

Williams' (WMB Quote) plan to convert an asset with a contentious history into $100 million in much-needed cash stirred little reaction from dejected merchant energy investors Wednesday.

News of the sale -- which will rid Williams of its Kansas Hugoton gas gathering system -- failed to budge the stock, which has lost more than three-quarters of its value this year as investors have come to doubt the credibility of the entire energy-trading industry. Williams rose 33 cents, to $5.32 Wednesday. ¿

But at least one Houston analyst called the transaction a "wonderful sale" for Williams. ...