The Future Is Still Uncertain for Coal  U.S. coal companies have
been going through hard times since April 2011. Both met and
thermal coal producers have lost significant amounts of their
market capitalization in recent times. The reasons behind the
downturn in the coal industry are primarily the economic crisis
in Europe and lower natural gas prices in the U.S. as a result
of the shale gas boom. It hasn't been more than two years since
coal companies began losing their stock prices, and the process
is still ongoing. The following table shows the losses in the
coal industry since the beginning of 2013.   Year to date
(2013*)  Arch Coal    Walter Energy    Alpha Natural Resources 
Peabody Energy    Market Vector Coal    Source: Google finance
Tough times for coal industry Market Vectors Coal (NYSEMKT:
KOL) is likely to underperform the broad market in the near
future, as the coal industry continues to face pressures. 
Thermal coal markets were already weak, but lately it seems that
met coal markets are als