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Corvis Revenue Drops Almost 90% |
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| Topic: Economics |
7:35 am EDT, Apr 26, 2002 |
Fiber-optic maker Corvis Corp. announced yesterday that its revenue declined nearly 90 percent during its first quarter, as its financially distressed telecommunications customers stopped spending on equipment. CEO: "The near-term visibility remains difficult in our sector." Its Q3 customers were Broadwing, WilComm, and Telefonica. Broadwing and Williams are both investors in Corvis, and both are struggling. Williams filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Monday. Earlier this week, Corvis renegotiated a deal with Qwest to purchase $12M in Corvis equipment in the next two years -- far less than the $150 million it originally planned to buy. Sounds like Corvis is on its way out, unless a bunch of wealthy buyers suddenly appear out of nowhere. Corvis Revenue Drops Almost 90% |
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JDS Uniphase Has $4.3 Billion Loss |
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| Topic: Economics |
7:32 am EDT, Apr 26, 2002 |
JDS Uniphase on Thursday posted a quarterly net loss of $4.3B as sales plunged by one-third and the fiber-optics equipment maker cut another 2,000 jobs in the face of a collapse in demand for telecommunications equipment. ... Shares of JDS have dropped 42% since the beginning of the year ... Dropping 2,000 employees is a 20% reduction in staff levels. And yet JDS is still losing buckets of money, even after a $41B writedown last year. JDS Uniphase Has $4.3 Billion Loss |
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Chief Quits at Phone Giant in Canada, and Stock Soars |
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| Topic: Economics |
6:32 am EDT, Apr 25, 2002 |
Jean C. Monty resigned today as chairman and chief executive of BCE, Canada's dominant telecommunications company, after telling investors at a conference here that the company was backing away from its beleaguered Teleglobe unit. ... Plans an $8B writedown for Q2. ... "[Monty] decided that the headwinds were too much going forward." ... [Inexplicably,] BCE's stock soared 20% on the day ... You've got to know when to hold 'em, when to fold 'em ... when to walk away, when to run ... Ever try bluffing your way through a round of five-card stud while clinging madly to the back of a bucking bronco in the midst of a stampede? You will, and BCE will bring it to you. Chief Quits at Phone Giant in Canada, and Stock Soars |
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AOL's Slump Helps Produce a Major Loss for Its Parent |
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| Topic: Economics |
6:29 am EDT, Apr 25, 2002 |
Time Warner, the world's biggest media company, said yesterday that it would not achieve its original financial goals for 2002 because the online advertising market had deteriorated even further than it had expected. The announcement came as AOLTW announced a $54.2B net loss for the first quarter, among the biggest quarterly losses in corporate history. ... [This makes] it clear that the difficulties facing the company's flagship America Online unit are more daunting than even some pessimists had expected. ... The bigger they are, the harder they fall ... AOL's Slump Helps Produce a Major Loss for Its Parent |
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AT&T Posts Nearly $1 Billion [Quarterly!] Loss |
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| Topic: Economics |
6:19 am EDT, Apr 25, 2002 |
AT&T reported its loss widened to nearly $1B in the first quarter, blaming the performance on falling long-distance sales, an accounting change and a slide in the value of its investments. The company's revenues continued to slide, especially in its long-distance telephone businesses. ... Long-distance telephone sales continue to be punished by increasing competition from cellular service, e-mail and local telephone carriers ... How, exactly, do you manage to lose a billion dollars in a single quarter? AT&T found a way. AT&T Posts Nearly $1 Billion [Quarterly!] Loss |
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Ericsson to Cut 17,000 Jobs |
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| Topic: Economics |
6:08 am EDT, Apr 25, 2002 |
Ericsson shares plunged 24% Monday after the wireless equipment maker unexpectedly announced it was shedding up to 17,000 more jobs, about 20% of its work force. Chairman: "It's very much a matter of trying to sweat it out, trying to survive a very hard recession in this industry." An economist: "We still haven't seen anything from the 3G market yet. It's affecting every company in the telecom market." CEO: cuts primarily in development activities worldwide. ... Ericsson expects wireless industry sales to be down more than 10% this year. The plan is go from 107,000 employees in January 2000 to 65,000 in December 2003 ... Ericsson to Cut 17,000 Jobs |
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Pay Features Gather Steam on Web |
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| Topic: Economics |
6:00 am EDT, Apr 25, 2002 |
Yahoo, which has rolled out 17 paid services to consumers in the last year, has been among the most aggressive businesses in getting people to pay for online services and information they had formerly received free. ... All across the Web, consumers are buying newly offered information and services. ... a recent Forrester survey indicated that one-third of Internet users would be willing to pay for online content next year. ... content providers will have to "slice and dice" things ... Smart Money Select now has 7,500 paid subscribers ... Yahoo is developing "lifestyle bundles" ... Weightwatchers.com is profitable today. Pay Features Gather Steam on Web |
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Williams Communications Files for Chapter 11 |
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| Topic: Economics |
5:52 am EDT, Apr 25, 2002 |
Williams Communications Group filed for bankruptcy late Monday night, part of its plan to restructure $6B in debt. The filing came after the company was give a Friday deadline to restructure the $6B in debt owed to its creditors. It expects to file a reorganization plan "in the near future." ... The company amassed its $5.9B debt constructing a 33,000-mile fiber-optic network ... stock was once at $40 a share but is now sold for less than a quarter.
Williams Communications Files for Chapter 11 |
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Lucent Posts 8th Straight Loss, Sees More Cuts |
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| Topic: Economics |
5:49 am EDT, Apr 25, 2002 |
Lucent, the world's largest telecommunications equipment maker, on Monday posted its eighth consecutive quarterly net loss and said it will cut more jobs to try to return to profitability amid the telecom industry's spending slowdown. Lucent CEO: "It feels like we're bouncing along bottom." Lucent Posts 8th Straight Loss, Sees More Cuts |
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Qwest Dumps 2,000 Additional Workers |
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| Topic: Economics |
5:51 am EDT, Apr 20, 2002 |
Qwest shares fell by nearly 12% Friday on news that the it cut 2,000 more jobs (on top of 7,000 already planned) and lowered its forecast for 2002. CEO Joe Nacchio: "We believe this guidance is realistic, assuming no further deterioration in the regional economy or industry outlook." ... Qwest, with debts near $25B, is trying to sell some of its assets - including its directory business and wireless unit - to raise pay-down cash. Qwest would not comment on a WSJ report that it was in "advanced" negotiations to unload its Dex directory publishing business for up to $10B. On Friday, Fitch Ratings lowered its assessment of Qwest's creditworthiness to a notch above junk status ... Fitch maintains its negative outlook, based on Qwest's reduced liquidity position, weaker operating performance, outstanding debt and uncertainty over an SEC inquiry. Meanwhile, SBC fell 3.5%, BellSouth fell 4.1%, and WorldCom fell 6% on weak outlooks. Qwest's 1Q report is due on April 30. Look for another major drop in two weeks ... and it appears they're going to sidestep the SEC inquiry into the phone book printing schedule by selling off the business altogether. Who needs a phone book any more any way? How is that worth $10B? Qwest Dumps 2,000 Additional Workers |
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