NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) Oct. 8, 2003--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that Duke Energy Corp.'s (BBB+/Negative/A-2) announcment of the appointment of a new CEO has no immediate effect on the rating on the company. This is because it is too early to assess the effectiveness of the new CEO in aiding Duke Energy to address the main challenges facing the company, including the weakness in the merchant generation market, the preservation of the existing strong operations of the regulated utility operations, both electric and gas, and the continuation of the debt reduction plans.