Duke Energy Corp. (A+/Watch Neg/--) has completed its investigation of 750,000 trades in accordance with the Securities and Exchange Commission's May 31, 2002 informal request for information about 'round-trip' energy transactions. The new revelations are marginally negative. The final report uncovered five incremental cases over the Intercontinental Exchange. Furthermore, Duke Energy has identified 61 round-trip transactions completed at the direction of one trader that did not have a legitimate business purpose. Duke Energy's corrective actions include the dismissal of 2 employees, restructuring and consolidation of trading activities, and a tightening of policies and procedures. The financial implications are not material, as these revenues represent less than 0.33% of trading revenues. Standard&Poor's is reviewing Duke Energy's creditworthiness in light
