In this Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2007, file photo, Robert Murray, chief executive of Murray Energy Corp., speaks during an interview with an Associated Press reporter in his office at the Crandall Canyon Mine, in Huntington, Utah. Murray died Sunday, Oct. 25, 2020, at his home in Ohio less than a week after announcing his retirement as board chairman of a major U.S. coal operator. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)
In this Monday, Aug. 20, 2007, file photo, Robert Murray, founder and chairman of Cleveland-based Murray Energy Corp., pauses while speaking during a news conference at the entrance to the Crandall Canyon Mine, northwest of Huntington, Utah. Murray died Sunday, Oct. 25, 2020, at his home in Ohio less than a week after announcing his retirement as board chairman of a major U.S. coal operator. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)
In this Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2007, file photo, Robert Murray, founder and chairman of Cleveland-based Murray Energy Corp., pauses for a moment during a news conference on the rescue efforts for six trapped coal miners at the entrance to the Crandall Canyon Mine, northwest of Huntington, Utah. Murray died Sunday, Oct. 25, 2020, at his home in Ohio less than a week after announcing his retirement as board chairman of a major U.S. coal operator. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)
ST. CLAIRSVILLE, Ohio (AP) — Robert Murray, the board chairman of the largest privately owned U.S. coal operator, who long fought federal regulations to reduce black lung disease, died at his home in Ohio less than a week after announcing his retirement, a lawyer said.
Michael Shaheen, an attorney who had recently represented Murray, 80, told The Intelligencer/Wheeling News-Register that he died Sunday morning in St. Clairsville.
No official cause of death was given. Public reports recently stated Murray had applied for black lung benefits with the U.S. Department of Labor. The application said Murray was heavily dependent on oxygen.
Murray had announced his retirement Oct. 19 from American Consolidated Natural Resource Holdings Inc., which is based in St. Clairsville. The company has active mines in Alabama, Kentucky, Ohio, West Virginia and Utah. Murray was the founder, president and CEO of the company's predecessor, Murray Energy.
Murray Energy was launched in 1988. The company recently emerged from federal bankruptcy protection, with its Chapter 11 plan becoming effective last month.
“Bob fought through his medical challenges with the same energy, drive, guts, and faith in God as he approached everything in life,” Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican, said in a statement. Murray was a friend for three decades, DeWine said.
Murray had fought federal mine safety regulations for years, with his company suing unsuccessfully in 2014 over regulations to cut the amount of coal dust in mines to reduce the incidence of black lung disease.
Shaheen said a private memorial service for Murray was scheduled for Tuesday.
“Saddened to learn of the passing of Bob Murray,” tweeted U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, a West Virginia Republican. “He was a staunch ally for coal miners, a good friend, and a one of a kind person.”
7 Great Biotech Stocks That Don’t Depend on a Coronavirus Cure
Biotech stocks are some of the most volatile for investors to include in their portfolio. And that volatility can be hard to predict. Biotech companies don’t have a firm correlation with the overall economy. And what can add to the challenge is that many of these companies are small-cap companies that are not well-known names.
These small biotech stocks may shoot higher based on a vaccine or drug candidate that gets national attention. But these small-cap stock also reflect the adage of letting the buyer beware. The stark reality for many investors is that the vast majority of these treatments never make it past clinical trials, and that means that a stock that goes up rapidly can move down just as fast.
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Of course, if you held the stock too long, you could have lost your shirt as well.
That doesn’t mean. However, that buy and hold investors should avoid the biotech sector altogether. There are still some attractively priced small-cap biotech companies working on treatments for a range of conditions that provide them with a large addressable base. And we’ve identified seven of these stocks in this special presentation.
View the "7 Great Biotech Stocks That Don’t Depend on a Coronavirus Cure".
