Negative press about Chevron (NYSE: CVX) has reached a boiling point after news that the oil company had been hit with a $9.5 billion ruling by an Ecuador count. The penalty comes from pollution of the local rain forest.  Chevron said it will appeal the court’s decision.

Note: The Flame Index scans thousands of news sites 24 hours per day and ranks companies getting the most negative press right now. The Flame Index Media Analysis Algorithm crunches the data for an up-to-the-minute ranking of the worst companies.

The Flame Index started as a research tool in 2008 at the NY Innovation Design Lab (nyidlab). It was used as a general metric to evaluate companies and their risk in the media. Publicly-traded Fortune 500 companies are used as a measure to calculate an overall market of negative news and the companies are ranked within that market.

-Douglas A. Mcintyre

Rank	Company	Score	Change in Rank	Comments
1	Chevron	44.038	+43	Chevron loses suit in Ecuador. Penalty of $9.5 billion.
2	Fannie Mae	39.908	-1	Concern that the federal government will shutter the company and wipe out common shareholders.
3	Freddie Mac	33.699	-1	Another government-controlled mortgage entity that may be phased out in favor of private market lending.
4	DISH Network	33.581	+65	Echostar operation will buy Hughes. Price upsets shareholders.
5	Borders Group	21.601	-2	Bankruptcy usually causes negative press reactions.
6	Ford Motor	20.615	+164	China car sales drop sharply in January.
7	Wal-Mart Stores	20.197	+24	Major brokerage downgrade.
8	CF Industries Holdings	19.43	+68	Accident at its Hardee Phosphate Complex causes death.
9	Toyota Motor Corporation	18.725	-4	Fire closes plant that makes best-selling Prius.
10	Retail Ventures	18.506	+5	Buy-out by DSW hits legal hurdles.

Data and ranking provided by the Flame Index.