(Editor's note: This report, originally published May 16, 2003, mistakenly referred to a future partial transfer of Gaz de France's (GDF) pension commitments to the French government. The transfer, in fact, would be to third parties. In addition, wording with respect to GDF's gross pension commitments has been clarified. A corrected version follows.) On May 16, 2003, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services lowered its long-term corporate credit rating on state-owned French gas utility Gaz de France (GDF) to 'AA' from 'AAA' and removed the rating from CreditWatch, where it had been placed on Dec. 30, 2002. At the same time, Standard&Poor's affirmed its 'A-1+' short-term corporate credit and commercial paper ratings on GDF. The outlook is negative. The
