Unglamorous

Southern Co., which had the foresight to spin off its marketing operations over a year ago and plod along as an unglamorous utility, was the one sporting the positive results Wednesday, reporting third quarter earnings up 5% this year over last at $595 million, or 84 cents per share. At the same time TXU Corp., which expanded marketing operations to the Continent, has lost its sparkle, settling for 73 cents/share earnings in the quarter or $206 million, off 38% from 3Q 2001.