Rodent Regatta

The shake-out continues. At Level 3 Communications this was understood many months ago. In fact Level 3 predicted much of what is happening in this February 2, 1999 presentation. Clearly, they have suffered along with the telecom industry, but suffering is different from folding!
Metromedia Fiber Slides Toward a Bankruptcy Filing. Metromedia Fiber Network replaced its top executives and said that it had violated several loan agreements, moving to the brink of bankruptcy. By Barnaby J. Feder. [New York Times: Technology]
S.E.C. May Act on Qwest Earnings Data. Qwest Communications said that it might be charged by securities regulators because it failed to provide earnings data in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. By Bloomberg News. [New York Times: Technology]
Qwest expects to take a charge of $20 billion to $30 billion this year to reflect a fall in the value of assets it acquired, citing changes in accounting for goodwill. [Wall Street Journal]
WILLIAMS REPORTS $3.1 BILLION LOSS The Williams Communications Group, the telephone and data network operator that has considered filing for bankruptcy protection, revised its fourth-quarter loss to $3.1 billion after writing down the value of assets by $2.9 billion. The loss was $6.24 a share, compared with a loss of $55.7 million, or 13 cents, a year earlier, the company said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Williams Communications, based in Tulsa, Okla., is renegotiating its bank debt and said it would use a 30-day grace period before paying $91 million of interest due on redeemable notes. The company took on $5.2 billion in debt to build a fiber optic network.    (Bloomberg News)