CMS May Exit Wholesale Trading

CMS Energy Corp. said it may quit the wholesale energy trading business after internal reviews confirmed bogus transactions and found phony pricing reports.

CMS Energy, whose chief executive and top trading executive resigned this year, is considering “strategic alternatives” for the power-trading business, including a complete exit, the company said.

One review found that CMS traders inflated their business using “round-trip” trades in which they simultaneously bought and sold power at the same quantity and price. Another probe found that traders provided false natural-gas prices to industry publications that use the information to compile pricing indexes.

Shares of CMS, based in Dearborn, Mich., rose 52 cents to $8.66 on the NYSE.