1.   Arch Coal Inc., the sixth-largest U.S. coal producer, is eyeing other producers for possible acquisitions following a successful merger last summer.

2.   Australian coal producers and Japanese steelmakers are divided over expectations of Japanese steel output for next year.

3.   Britain got a similar boost when the government abandoned protections for domestic coal producers, which sparked a rapid shift to cleaner natural gas.

4.   Coal producers have also found lower-sulfur sources.

5.   Coal producers moved from heavily unionized Appalachia to the West, which is rich in low-sulfur coal.

6.   Coking coal producers this year are again facing an uphill battle on prices as economies across Southeast Asia slow, crimping demand for steel.

7.   Despite a sour mood among their biggest customers in the steel and power-generation industries, U.S. coal producers have been in high spirits for the last year.

8.   Energy Group owns Peabody Coal, a huge coal producer.

9.   German energy prices are among the highest in the world, in part because the government protected domestic coal producers for decades.

10.   Hanson plans to spin off its energy business, which includes U.K. electricity distributor Eastern Group and U.S. coal producer Peabody, early next year.