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Continuing turmoil within the wholesale markets and an awful month of June for gas versus power prices have forced American Electric Power (AEP) to re-think its 2002 earnings forecast. On Thursday, the company predicted its earnings would be 10% lower than expected this year.

Continuing turmoil within the wholesale markets and an awful month of June for gas versus power prices have forced American Electric Power (AEP) to re-think its 2002 earnings forecast. On Thursday, the company predicted its earnings would be 10% lower than expected this year.

Continuing turmoil within the wholesale markets and an awful month of June for gas versus power prices have forced American Electric Power (AEP) to re-think its 2002 earnings forecast. On Thursday, the company predicted its earnings would be 10% lower than expected this year.

NiSource Inc. reported net income of $160.7 million, or $0.78 per basic share, for the nine months ended Sept. 30 versus net income of $155 million, or $1.27 per basic share for the same period last year. But the two are not comparable, NiSource said, because of its acquisition Nov. 1, 2000 of Columbia Energy Group.

After watching July prices tunnel lower into expiration Wednesday, natural gas traders were content to take a breather yesterday, choosing to wait for new fundamental or technical clues instead of blindly reestablishing a position in August futures. As a result, the new prompt month had a hard time getting out of its own way, sifting sideways to close a scant 0.6 cents lower at $3.28.

Despite their success in keeping the market in negative territory for most of Thursday’s trading session, natural gas bears had very little to show for their efforts. Since plummeting 13 cents in the minutes following a larger-than-expected storage injection Wednesday, July natural gas futures have actually gained ground, with prices rising late Wednesday and then hanging around the $3.80 level yesterday. Although the change column shows a 1.1-cent decline for the day, it belies the market’s inability not only to test support at $3.67, but also to make a lower-low on the day.