Xethanol's X-Factor

The only sell-side analyst who follows Xethanol (XNL Quote) finds himself in a less generous mood lately.

Ian Horowitz, the alternative energy expert at Soleil Securities, set out to be fair this spring as he prepared to start coverage of the Amex-listed micro-cap stock. He works a mere three blocks from Xethanol's new corporate headquarters in midtown Manhattan. He could certainly spare the time to visit with leaders of a company that planned to be the first to profitably convert waste into ethanol.

Horowitz ran into trouble from the beginning, however. He says that Xethanol originally claimed that its top executives could not meet with him until well after his deadline. Then, he says, even after the company changed its mind, Christopher d'Arnaud-Taylor -- ousted this week as CEO -- failed to show up for the scheduled appointment. ...