Not long ago, the Washington region was one of the hottest spots in the nation for building bunker-like warehouses for the powerful computers that send, receive and store data on the Internet. Now, with many of those data centers gone dark, the region has become a magnet for bargain hunters.

Only 34.7% of data-center space is being used. About 1/3 of the excess is for sale, at a 50-90% discount off the construction cost.

Is 'Synergy' Achievable -- or Even Desirable?

Executives of the media giants and some industry analysts insist that there is no systemic problem with large-scale media acquisitions and that it is too early to issue a meaningful report card on synergy. They say last year's advertising climate, the worst since World War II, has conspired with a recession to keep companies from achieving their goals; the jaw-dropping one-time charges on companies' balance sheets are merely the product of a change in accounting rules.

In the last three years, Graham Wallace, chief executive of Cable and Wireless, has defied critics by transforming a lumbering phone company into a New Age provider of Internet services to large corporations.

Now that strategy -- and Mr. Wallace's job -- is on the line. With Cable and Wireless's stock price floundering, investors are increasingly calling for a shake-up, including the shutdown of some units and the resignation of Mr. Wallace.

... Investors have erased $9.8B in market value in the last year. C&W will report a 54% decline in EBITDA on a 28% decline in revenue.

As WorldCom's financial situation darkens, analysts say bankruptcy could be just around the corner. Even if it isn't, the telecommunications company and its competitors are in for a rough ride for the next few years, according to Wall Street analysts.

It has been two months since Ivan G. Seidenberg, the chief executive of Verizon, mused at an investment conference that his company might bid for WorldCom "for the fun of it" if the stock price of that long-distance and Internet carrier continued falling.

Since then, WorldCom's shares have dropped 80%, to $1.58 on Friday. But as Mr. Seidenberg wryly suggested, conditions in the communications sector are so tough that Verizon has no real interest in WorldCom at any price. Verizon, along with rivals like SBC Communications, BellSouth and Deutsche Telekom, all have plenty of their own problems without taking on WorldCom's.

How bleak has the telecommunications scene become?

... Analyst: "We're not recommending any exposure to telecom. Tech investors are better off looking at semiconductors or game companies."

... Goldman, Sachs: "The telecom industry is beset by destructive competition in almost every sector." ... Fears are rising that telecommunications has too much in common with industries like steel and airlines.

Corning's numerous problems go well beyond the collapse of the teleconomy. The company is essentially betting everything on a return of demand for its fiber-optic cable and equipment. Perhaps more troubling, its capital structure is also in shambles, meaning that at least an organizational restructuring -- and maybe a recapitalization -- almost assuredly lie ahead.

WorldCom's credit rating was cut below investment grade yesterday by Moody's Investors Service, but the company narrowly averted a cash squeeze by securing a waiver from its lenders that allows it to have access to an important borrowing program.

In a move that will affect Hollywood movie studios as well as the world of soccer, the Kirch Group's pay television company filed for bankruptcy today after negotiations with creditors collapsed.

NTL Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, citing $23.38 billion in debt, as part of a recovery plan that will hand bondholders a controlling stake in Britain's largest cable-television company.

Teleglobe Inc. is running out of cash, is preparing to lay off 40 percent of its workforce -- about 800 employees -- early next week, and may file for bankruptcy protection within 10 days.