Downgraded

Fitch Ratings said Thursday that it has downgraded the ratings of the Duke Energy Corp. and its wholly owned subsidiary Duke Capital Corp. in response to management’s recent announcement that profits in 2002 and 2003 will be well below previous expectations. The rating agency lowered Duke Energy’s first and refunding mortgage bonds to “A+” from “AA-“, senior unsecured debt to “A” from “A+” and preferred stock to “A-” from “A”.

Citing the downgrade of El Paso Energy Corp. as part of the reason for its action, Moody’s Investors Service downgraded the senior secured debt of a MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co. subsidiary that owns and operates a 537 MW natural gas-fired combined cycle generation plant located in the Midwest.

Fitch Ratings said Thursday that it has downgraded the ratings of the Duke Energy Corp. and its wholly owned subsidiary Duke Capital Corp. in response to management’s recent announcement that profits in 2002 and 2003 will be well below previous expectations. The rating agency lowered Duke Energy’s first and refunding mortgage bonds to “A+” from “AA-“, senior unsecured debt to “A” from “A+” and preferred stock to “A-” from “A”.

Citing the downgrade of El Paso Energy Corp. as part of the reason for its action, Moody’s Investors Service downgraded the senior secured debt of a MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co. subsidiary that owns and operates a 537 MW natural gas-fired combined cycle generation plant located in the Midwest.

Isidore, downgraded today from a Tropical Storm to a Tropical Depression, has taken as much as 4.5 million bbl of oil and 25 Bcf of natural gas off the U.S. market during the three-day shutdown of oil and gas operations on the Gulf of Mexico outer continental shelf (OCS), the Interior Department’s Minerals Management Service (MMS) estimated Thursday.

Moody’s Investor’s Service downgraded the senior unsecured debt of Bedminster, NJ-based NUI Utilities to Baa1 from A3 and the senior unsecured debt of its non-regulated parent, NUI Corp., to Baa2 from Baa1, with a negative outlook. NUI’s earnings and cash flow have been under pressure by warm winter weather, a lackluster economy and the unfavorable market conditions in the marketing and trading business.

Moody’s Investor’s Service downgraded the senior unsecured debt of Bedminster, NJ-based NUI Utilities to Baa1 from A3 and the senior unsecured debt of its non-regulated parent, NUI Corp., to Baa2 from Baa1, with a negative outlook. NUI’s earnings and cash flow have been under pressure by warm winter weather, a lackluster economy and the unfavorable market conditions in the marketing and trading business.

After seeing its corporate credit rating downgraded to two levels below “junk status” and its stock skid to a low of 78 cents at one point last week, Williams Cos. Inc. got some much-needed good news Friday. First, the company announced it had reached an agreement in principle with California and a number of other parties, including Washington and Oregon, on a settlement to resolve all outstanding litigation/claims and refunds for electricity overcharges, and then FERC signaled it probably would not strip Williams of its license to sell power at unregulated rates.

After seeing its corporate credit rating downgraded to two levels below “junk status” and its stock skid to a low of 78 cents at one point last week, Williams Cos. Inc. got some much-needed good news Friday. First, the company announced it had reached an agreement in principle with California and a number of other parties, including Washington and Oregon, on a settlement to resolve all outstanding litigation/claims and refunds for electricity overcharges, and then FERC signaled it probably would not strip Williams of its license to sell power at unregulated rates.