On Sept. 15, 2005, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services affirmed its 'BBB/A-2' corporate credit ratings on diversified energy company Duke Energy Corp. and its subsidiaries and removed the ratings from CreditWatch with negative implications. The outlook is stable. The ratings on Duke Energy were originally placed on CreditWatch May 10, 2005, after the company announced that it is acquiring Cinergy Corp. (BBB+/Watch Neg/A-2) in an all-stock transaction. The ratings on Cinergy remain on CreditWatch with negative implications. As of June 30, 2005, Charlotte, N.C.-based Duke Energy had $16.2 billion of debt outstanding. The stable outlook reflects Standard&Poor's assessment that, once executed, Duke Energy's plan to sell 6,200 MW of merchant generation capacity in the western and northeastern U.S.,
