USA: Cinergy sees 45 pct of 2001 EPS target in H1.
Reuters English News Service, 04/09/01

USA: IntercontinentalExchange volumes rise 33 percent in March.
Reuters English News Service, 04/09/01

India State Govt Panel To Review Dabhol Power Agreement
Dow Jones International News, 04/09/01

EC Outlook Signs Licensing Agreement with Enron
Business Wire, 04/09/01

Utility Bonds Slip on PG&E Unit Bankruptcy: Corporate Bonds
Bloomberg, 04/09/01

When a Name Doesn't Always Ring a Bell
Newsday, 04/09/01




USA: Cinergy sees 45 pct of 2001 EPS target in H1.

04/09/2001
Reuters English News Service
(C) Reuters Limited 2001.

CINCINNATI, April 9 (Reuters) - Cinergy Corp. , a major Midwestern power 
company, said on Monday it expected 45 percent of its 2001 earnings target of 
$2.75 to come through in the first half of the year, helped by power plant 
acquisitions in the past 18 months. 
Cincinnati-based Cinergy, which also has utility operations distributing 
natural gas and electricity to more than 1.4 million customers in the 
Cincinnati area and central Indiana, said the remaining 55 percent was 
forecast for the last half of 2001.
Analysts currently expect 47 percent in the first half and 53 percent in 
second half, according to research company Thomson Financial/First Call. 
Cinergy shares closed up 70 cents, or 2.06 percent, at $34.75 on the Nasdaq 
market. 
The highlights of the group's recent acquisitions include two merchant 
generating facilities in the Southeast from Enron North America . The plants 
are the 494-megawatt Brownsville generation facility in Haywood County, 
Tennessee, and the 504-MW Caledonia generation facility in Lowndes County, 
Mississippi. Both are natural gas-fired units.

Copyright , 2000 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 


USA: IntercontinentalExchange volumes rise 33 percent in March.

04/09/2001
Reuters English News Service
(C) Reuters Limited 2001.

NEW YORK, April 9 (Reuters) - Monthly trade on Internet-based 
IntercontinentalExchange (ICE) rose 33 percent in March, bringing its total 
volume to $70 billion since its inception last year, the exchange said 
Monday. 
Over 42,000 trades have been made on ICE since the start of trading last 
August, ICE said.
That brings daily average trading volumes up to about $350 million, a tenth 
of those of EnronOnline, where Enron is on one side of every transaction. 
ICE hosts 'over the counter' (OTC) trading - trading done outside regular 
exchanges - of derivatives in crude and refined oil products, natural gas, 
power and metals. 
During March, a total of 168 million barrels of crude oil and refined 
products were traded on ICE, along with 55 million megawatt hours of 
electricity, 820 billion cubic feet of natural gas and 8 million 
gold-equivalent ounces. 
Last month, ICE set new records of 19 million barrels of oil, 97 billion 
cubic feet of natural gas and 4.6 million megawatt hours of power for daily 
trading on its system. 
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, trading regularly exceeds 400 million 
barrels of crude in a day. 
ICE enjoys a market share of 20 percent in OTC electronic trading of North 
American power, according to the exchange. IT has a 14 percent share in North 
American natural gas and derivatives, 8 percent share in global precious 
metals and 7 percent in global oil and refined products derivatives. 
The ICE system is installed on 3,750 desktops worldwide to trade more than 
600 listed contracts. 
Oil majors BP Amoco , Royal Dutch/Shell and TotalFinaElf joined international 
banks to establish ICE last year, with several U.S. power companies joining 
the consortium later in 2000. 
ICE is seen as the firm favorite to strike a deal with London's International 
Petroleum Exchange (IPE), Europe's largest energy futures market, that could 
provide IPE a shortcut to expand electronic trading and get onto the 
Internet. 
The two organizations have been for some months discussing a share swap that 
could result in a merger, industry sources say.

Copyright , 2000 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 


India State Govt Panel To Review Dabhol Power Agreement

04/09/2001
Dow Jones International News
(Copyright (c) 2001, Dow Jones & Company, Inc.)

NEW DELHI -(Dow Jones)- India's Maharashtra state government said Monday that 
it has set up a panel of experts to review the 1995 power purchase agreement 
signed between Dabhol Power Co., a subsidiary of the U.S. energy major Enron 
Corp. (ENE) and Maharashtra State Electricity Board, Press Trust of India 
reported Monday. 
"The Godbole Committee, appointed by the government to review the 
controversial power project, has been authorized to hold negotiations with 
DPC on behalf of the state government and MSEB, which is finding it extremely 
difficult to pay the exorbitant electricity bills," PTI quoted Maharahtra's 
junior Power Minister Rajendra Darda as saying.
DPC has a controlling 65% stake in the controversial 2,184-megawatt electric 
power project in the western Indian state of Maharashtra, which supplies 
power to the state-run electricity board. 
Under a 1996 counter guarantee agreement, the federal government is obliged 
to pay Enron when MSEB defaults. Critics object to Dabhol charging 7.1 rupees 
a kilowatt-hour ($1=46.4602) for its power compared with INR1.5/KWh charged 
by other suppliers. 
As reported, Dabhol Power Co. sent the MSEB a notice of political force 
majeure to enforce its rights under the power purchase agreement between the 
two parties. 
"I can confirm that Dabhol Power Co. has sent the MSEB a notice of political 
force majeure," said Jimmy Mogul, Enron India spokesman, in a faxed company 
statement. 
-By Himendra Kumar, Dow Jones Newswires; 91-11-461-9427; 
himendra.kumar@dowjones.com

Copyright , 2000 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 

EC Outlook Signs Licensing Agreement with Enron

04/09/2001
Business Wire
(Copyright (c) 2001, Business Wire)

HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 9, 2001--EC Outlook, a software provider that 
automates the collaborative commerce activities of Global 1000 companies and 
their trading partners, has signed a licensing agreement with Enron Corp., 
one of the world's leading electricity, natural gas and communications 
companies, providing both companies with technology to enhance their 
commodity-related businesses. 
Enron is planning to use EC Outlook's Smart Document Interchange (SDI) 
Server(TM) software to streamline the exchange of certain documents with 
trading partners in commodity markets outside of its traditional energy and 
communications industries. Such industries include metals, pulp and paper and 
others. The SDI Server product helps companies and their partners share 
information without invasive hardware and software installations.
EC Outlook, in turn, will enhance its software offering with proprietary data 
interchange applications developed by Enron to manage complex logistical 
activities in natural gas and electricity markets. EC Outlook will integrate 
industry-specific functionalities and processes from this software into its 
own applications to deliver enhanced capabilities to customers. 
"Enron's data interchange technology is a strategic acquisition for us," said 
Matt Verghese, president and COO of EC Outlook. "Coupled with our existing 
applications, we can very effectively support the transaction-intensive needs 
of energy and other commodity businesses." 
"Commodity markets, like natural gas, electricity and others, will 
significantly benefit from electronically automating commerce activities 
among trading partners," said Greg Runyan, senior analyst with Yankee Group. 
"The agreement between EC Outlook and Enron is a perfect example of how 
market leaders can gain a competitive edge." 

About EC Outlook 

EC Outlook's software applications automate collaborative commerce activities 
between Global 1000 companies and their trading partners. Powered by SDI 
Server(TM) software, these applications enable customers and partners to 
quickly connect with one another to share information, regardless of size, 
technical sophistication or existing infrastructure. By overcoming 
connectivity and data disparity issues, customers have achieved increased 
revenues, working capital reductions and short-term payback on their 
investment. For more information, visit www.ecoutlook.com. 

SDI Server(TM)is a trademark of EC Outlook, Inc. in the United States. All 
other marks referenced are those of their respective owners.


CONTACT: EC Outlook Jeff Byron, 614/718-9290 jeff.byron@ecoutlook.com or 
Golin/Harris International for EC Outlook Jackie Jones, 415/808-9800 
jjones@golinharris.com 
08:08 EDT APRIL 9, 2001 

Copyright , 2000 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 


Utility Bonds Slip on PG&E Unit Bankruptcy: Corporate Bonds
2001-04-09 18:00 (New York)

Utility Bonds Slip on PG&E Unit Bankruptcy: Corporate Bonds

     New York, April 9 (Bloomberg) -- Bonds of utility and power-
generating companies slipped in value after PG&E Corp.'s Pacific
Gas & Electric unit filed for bankruptcy protection on Friday.
     Debt of San Jose, California-based Calpine, which has at
least 15 power plants operating or under construction in the
Golden State, was among the hardest hit, traders said. NRG Energy
Inc., Dynegy Inc., Duke Energy Corp., and other power producers
with less exposure to California also saw drops as bond investors
grew concerned that write-offs would threaten credit ratings.
     ``There are a number of suppliers who are owed money and are
hoping to be paid,'' said Mark Luftig, fund manager of the Strong
American Utilities Fund in Jersey City, New Jersey.
     Concern bills will remain unpaid, along with worries
utilities in other states may suffer from deregulation, has caused
utility debt to lag corporate bonds. Gas- and electric-utility
bonds rose 3.3 percent this year including price gains and
interest, according to a Merrill Lynch & Co. index, less than the
4.7 percent gain on U.S. investment-grade corporate bonds.
     Yields on Calpine's 8.5 percent notes due in 2011 have risen
about 0.4 percentage point since Friday to 3.6 percentage points
above U.S. Treasuries, traders said, though Moody's Investors
Service today confirmed the company's ``Ba1'' senior debt ratings.
Bond prices move inverse to yield.
     NRG and Dynegy bond yields rose about 0.2 percentage point
relative to Treasuries. Even yields of Public Service Enterprise
Group and other East Coast utilities that do little or no business
in California crept up about one-tenth of a percentage point on
the bankruptcy news, traders said.

                           Unwarranted?

     Eric Cheung, who holds bonds of Duke Energy Corp. and Enron
Corp. in the $8 billion he helps manage at Wilmington Trust Corp.
in Wilmington, Delaware, suggested some selling was unwarranted.
     ``We're not negative at all'' on the utility industry, he
said. ``You have to take a look at each state on a case-by-case
basis.''
     Pacific Gas & Electric and Southern California Edison,
California's two largest utilities, said they've accumulated more
than $14 billion in debt since last year because a failed
deregulation plan has forced them to buy power at rates far higher
than regulators allow them to charge customers.
     By contrast, Public Service Enterprise Group, owner of New
Jersey's largest utility, reported earnings of $764 million last
year, up 5.7 percent from 1999 levels. New Jersey has deregulated
its power market, but the utilities haven't been forced to sell
off their generating assets like they have in California.

                             51 Cents

     Pacific Gas & Electric's 7 3/8 bonds due in 2005 were bid
today at 51 cents on the dollar, or $510 per $1,000 face value,
traders said. That's down from about 90 cents as recently as
November. The company -- whose bonds were cut to junk status in
January -- has defaulted on $870 million of commercial paper this
year, the largest such default ever.
     The bankruptcy filing didn't result in any credit-rating cuts
of other utilities and power generators, said Ellen Lapson,
managing director at Fitch Inc. in New York.
     Still, risks for energy companies working in California will
be high until the situation is resolved, which may not happen
until new power plants are built years from now, analysts said.
     ``We are monitoring all energy credits in the western U.S.
for the impact they're experiencing from higher gas and power
prices,'' Lapson said.


PART II
When a Name Doesn't Always Ring a Bell
Dave Barry. Dave Barry's column appears every Monday in Part 2.

04/09/2001
Newsday
ALL EDITIONS
B02
(Copyright Newsday Inc., 2001)

SEVERAL MONTHS ago, out of the blue, a company named "Cingular" started 
sending me bills. I had never heard of Cingular, and I honestly did not know 
what these bills were for, so I put them in the pile where I keep documents 
that I intend to scrutinize more carefully later on, after my death. 
Then I started seeing TV commercials for Cingular, but of course they did not 
make it clear what Cingular is, because the First Rule of Modern Advertising 
is: "Never reveal what you are advertising." In the Cingular commercials - 
maybe you've seen them - these little characters that look like mutant 
starfish from space walk around and make gestures. It is not at all clear why 
they are doing this. It crossed my mind that maybe they are mutant starfish 
from space, and Cingular is the name of their home planet, and they've sent 
bills to all of humanity, and they are gesturing to indicate that if we don't 
pay them, they'll vaporize the Earth.
Eventually, I found out that Cingular is the new name of my cellular 
telephone company. It used to be named BellSouth Mobility. 
Before that, I think it was just BellSouth, and before that, it was Southern 
Bell, and before that, I'm sure it was several other things. 
If you went far enough back, you'd probably find out that at one time the 
name actually included the words "telephone company," so you could tell, from 
the name, what it did, which today would be a serious violation of business 
ethics. 
So I paid my Cingular bills, because I need my cellular phone to communicate 
vital information ("Hello? Hello? Can you hear me? I can't hear you. 
Hello?"). I apparently have a special cellular plan wherein all my calls are 
routed through a Burger King drive- thru intercom in Bolivia. I envy the 
people whose cell phones always seem to work - the people you see in airports 
with their phones attached to earphone/microphone devices so they can stride 
around, gesturing and talking really loud into the air, looking kind of like 
Hamlet delivering his soliloquy ("To be, or not to be, that is 
the...Hello?"). 
But my question is: Why do companies keep changing their names? And why do 
they always change them to names that don't mean anything? We consumers like 
names that reflect what the company does. We know, for example, that 
International Business Machines makes business machines; and Ford Motor makes 
Fords; and Sara Lee makes us fat. But we don't know, from the name "Verizon," 
what Verizon does. As far as I can tell, Verizon consists of some big 
telephone companies that joined together. So why couldn't they call 
themselves "An Even Bigger Telephone Company"? And what in the world is 
"Accenture"? This is a company that buys a lot of ads, the overall message of 
which seems to be: "Accenture - A Company That Buys a Lot of Ads." I checked 
the Accenture Internet site, and here's what it says about the name: 
"Accenture is a coined word that connotes putting an accent or emphasis on 
the future." Swell! I am all for the future! But what does Accenture do? What 
if it sends me a bill? Should I pay it? What if I don't and it turns out that 
"Accenture" is the new name for the organization formerly known as "La Cosa 
Nostra"? My body parts would be found in nine separate Hefty bags. The police 
would shake their heads and say, "Looks like he didn't pay his Accenture 
bill." 
This brings me to my idea for how you can make big money. You start by 
inventing a new, modern-sounding company name, such as "Paradil" or 
"Gerbadigm," which are coined words that connote a combination of "paradigm" 
and "gerbil." Then you print official- looking invoice forms for this 
company, and you send out a mass- mailing of bills for, let's say, $20.38 
apiece, to several million randomly selected people. 
You enclose an announcement with a perky corporate marketing statement that 
is clearly a lie, and thus appears totally realistic, such as: "We've changed 
our name to serve you better!" Granted, some consumers would throw the bill 
away. But a lot of them would pay it, because they're used to companies' 
suddenly mutating on them. You'd get rich! The only flaw in this plan is that 
the postal authorities might question its legality. If they give you any 
trouble, refer them to me, OK? My name is now Enron P. Citigroup.

Copyright , 2000 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.