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| compos mentis. Concision. Media. Clarity. Memes. Context. Melange. Confluence. Mishmash. Conflation. Mellifluous. Conviviality. Miscellany. Confelicity. Milieu. Cogent. Minty. Concoction. |
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Enron's Swap With Qwest Is Questioned |
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| Topic: Economics |
6:57 pm EST, Mar 29, 2002 |
Enron and Qwest struck a $500M deal last fall to swap fiber optic network capacity and services at exaggerated prices in an effort to improve each company's financial picture. ... analysts said the timing and the valuation would be hard to justify ... Qwest, the dominant telephone company in 14 Western states, has said publicly that its swaps are based solely on the needs of its network operations. ... "Qwest said we will overpay for the assets, and you will overpay me on the contract," one former Enron executive said. "They had a pinch in the third quarter and needed a deal." "It's totally irrational [for Qwest] to buy capacity from Enron. This is clearly a swap for accounting purposes." On Sept. 30, a Sunday and the final day of the third quarter, Qwest signed a deal to pay Enron $308 million for assets that included so-called dark fiber along a route from Salt Lake City to New Orleans. In exchange, Enron agreed to pay Qwest $195.5 million for "lit wavelength" over a 25-year period; each company exchanged checks for about $112 million around the close of the deal. "I can't conceive of any reason [Qwest] would need more dark fiber in the U.S.," said one analyst. Qwest did not announce the Enron deal ... but when Qwest announced 3Q results on October 31, it boasted about the expansion of its fiber optic network (without naming Enron). Enron's Swap With Qwest Is Questioned |
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Nextel Took $1.6 Billion Charge for NII Holdings |
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| Topic: Economics |
6:49 pm EST, Mar 29, 2002 |
Nextel Communications Inc., the No. 5 U.S. wireless operator, took a charge of roughly $1.6 billion in the fourth quarter of 2001 to restructure NII Holdings Inc., its troubled international unit. ... NII Holdings, which has about $2.67 billion in debt, may be forced to sell off assets, or file for bankruptcy protection if it cannot adequately restructure its financial obligations. ... The unit failed to make principal payments on its $108 million Argentine credit facilities and failed to make an interest payment on its $650 million aggregate principal amount of 12.75 percent senior notes. Looks like BellSouth isn't the only one struggling to pay its bills on Latin American telecoms. Nextel Took $1.6 Billion Charge for NII Holdings |
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Verizon Seeks an Image of Progress |
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| Topic: Economics |
6:47 pm EST, Mar 29, 2002 |
Verizon Communications, the nation's largest local telecommunications company, is beginning a big brand image campaign that asserts it helps its customers "make progress every day." ... when the telecommunications industry is suffering disruptions ... Verizon is hoping to associate its brand with a positive, uplifting message ... "You have to understand that people are not waking up every day thinking about the phone company, so you've got to do something that is provocative and entertains, and gives a new insight." You've got to love this ... Verizon is spending $500M on its "image" while its debts pile up and its customers leave the network. Verizon Seeks an Image of Progress |
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XO Mulls Icahn Offer, May File Bankruptcy |
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| Topic: Economics |
6:43 pm EST, Mar 29, 2002 |
XO Communications Inc., a money-losing telecommunications company, said on Friday it is considering a $500 million bid by financier Carl Icahn for 50 percent of the company, and that it may file for bankruptcy protection "in the very near future." ... XO said "it has become clear" that to implement a balance sheet restructuring necessary for it to run its business, the company "will need to commence a bankruptcy proceeding" and seek a reorganization that will eliminate its current equity and much of its debt. "Such a proceeding could be commenced in the very near future." XO Mulls Icahn Offer, May File Bankruptcy |
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Dutch Court Clears Web Music Swapping |
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| Topic: Intellectual Property |
6:42 pm EST, Mar 29, 2002 |
In a setback for efforts to halt copyright abuse, a Dutch appeals court on Thursday told a technology firm it could distribute a software program that is designed to let users share music and films on the Internet. The ruling in the case between Internet software company KaZaA and Dutch music rights organization Buma Stemra overturned a decision in November in favor of the music industry. The music industry says rampant online piracy has severely damaged recording sales and the movie industry fears the same could happen to it as computers become more powerful. The Amsterdam Court of Justice ruled that KaZaA was not liable for any individuals' abuse of its software, which is being used by millions of people around the world every day to swap copyright-protected games, music, pictures and films. Dutch Court Clears Web Music Swapping |
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Ericsson's CEO does not see recovery |
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| Topic: Economics |
9:09 am EST, Mar 28, 2002 |
Ericsson's CEO said Wednesday he saw no signs of a turnaround in the company's business this year, and shares of the cell phone and telecom gear maker fell in early trading. "We see no signs that the market has turned. The point of departure in our planning is that it will not turn this year. ... The market is cold. There is no significant increase in orders." Ericsson's orders fell 16 percent last year from 2000 and 39 percent in the fourth quarter alone. Like other companies in the telecoms equipment sector, Sweden-based Ericsson has been hard hit by the global economic slowdown. This, coupled with the billions of euros European companies have spent on third generation mobile telephony licences, has frozen operators' investment. These statements only confirm the bad news and grim outlook of the recent feature article in The Net Economy. So why do you we see quarterly reports that point to wireless as near-term centers of growth, revenue, and profits? Ericsson's CEO does not see recovery |
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NTT DoCoMo takes $7.5B charge |
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| Topic: Economics |
9:06 am EST, Mar 28, 2002 |
The Japanese mobile operator says it is looking at its overseas stock investments and may write off the billions it lost on AT&T Wireless of the United States and KPN Mobile of the Netherlands.
... [DoCoMo] will take a special charge of 1 trillion yen ($7.54 billion) on overseas investments. ... The firm's offshore investments in mobile operators include 16 percent of AT&T Wireless Services in the U.S., 15 percent of KPN Mobile in the Netherlands, 20 percent of Hutchison 3G U.K. and 21 percent of Taiwan's KG Telecommunications. ... DoCoMo President Keiji Tachikawa said a decision on a widely expected writedown of his company's $9.8 billion investment in AT&T Wireless Services Inc, by far its largest foreign holding, could come as early as Friday. ... the downturn in global telco valuations since April 2000 means the company's investments face heavy writedowns. ... The losses on past investments would not deter DoCoMo from continuing its expansion overseas ... Are DoCoMo and NTT giving up hope on the US wireless market? ... Maybe they won't be interested in the wireline infrastructure when it comes up for sale. NTT DoCoMo takes $7.5B charge |
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UBS Downgrade of WorldCom Another Blow to Telecom Giant |
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| Topic: Economics |
7:56 am EST, Mar 27, 2002 |
Shares tumble as analyst says company may undertake a restructuring because of weak demand. WorldCom-MCI Group's annualized stock dividend yield of 30%-plus looks too good to be true, and probably is. The warning helped drive MCI Group shares 16% in another blow to the devastated telecom-stock sector. UBS Downgrade of WorldCom Another Blow to Telecom Giant |
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A Suit Says WorldCom Deals Obscured Millions in Bad Debt |
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| Topic: Economics |
7:54 am EST, Mar 27, 2002 |
A lawsuit quietly moving forward against the telecommunications giant WorldCom accuses the company of using concealed transactions and sham contracts to avoid reporting an uncollectible debt of $165 million. ... The suit contends that WorldCom helped engineer a bankruptcy filing ... then took part in transactions that misleadingly inflated the value of ... a publicly traded long-distance company. A Suit Says WorldCom Deals Obscured Millions in Bad Debt |
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Global Crossing Tries to Stop N.Y. Station Eviction |
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| Topic: Economics |
7:52 am EST, Mar 27, 2002 |
A creditor's effort to evict Global Crossing Ltd. from a New York site where a fiber-optic cable from England hooks into the network of U.S. land lines would wipe out a third of Global's transatlantic telephone traffic and slash the company's value to potential buyers. ... [The motion] shows the precariousness of Global's vaunted worldwide network and the dependence all telecommunications companies have on each other, especially at a time when financial troubles seem to be having a domino effect. ... "What some people are realizing through this whole telecom meltdown is that the livelihood of these companies is dependent on the livelihood of all the other companies." ... Global Crossing Tries to Stop N.Y. Station Eviction |
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