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To: Labrador who wrote (560)8/4/1999 8:50:00 PM
From: Caxton Rhodes  Respond to of 13582
 
CHASE MANHATTAN CORP has told MOTOROLA INC that it has to guarantee $300 mln of an existing $800 mln loan for IRIDIUM WORLD COMMUNICATIONS LTD, a satellite telecommunications company that is working to reorganise its debt and struggling to add subscribers. Wireless phone and chip maker Motorola has said it held talks with Iridium in the last two weeks and was optimistic the satellite network company could restructure and survive. But in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Iridium said it has received a copy of a letter, dated July 29, to Motorola from Chase Manhattan, saying that "an event of default has occurred" under the credit agreement between Iridium and its Chase Manhattan-led lenders. (Reuters 05:49 AM ET 08/04/99)



To: Labrador who wrote (560)8/4/1999 8:52:00 PM
From: Caxton Rhodes  Respond to of 13582
 
10:38 AM ET 08/04/99RESEARCH ALERT - Motorola kept strong buy
CHICAGO, Aug 4 (Reuters) - Gruntal & Co. LLC analyst Mona
Eraiba on Wednesday repeated her strong buy rating on
telecommunications and semi-conductor maker Motorola Inc.,
citing an upbeat meeting with analysts held on Tuesday.
-- "The company is moving to a growth phase with tremendous
potential driven by powerful digital wireless demand worldwide,
convergence of technology in wireless and wireline, in addition
to a beginning of a new cycle in semiconductors," Eraiba wrote
in a research note. -- Eraiba maintained her earnings per share estimates of
$2.25 for 1999 and $3.60 for 2000 and repeated a strong buy
rating on Schaumburg, Ill.-based Motorola.
-- The analyst also said she expected fallout from
Motorola's investment in satellite phone maker Iridium LLC
to be "...at worst, neutral to operations."
-- "Motorola is well-positioned with strong renewed product
line, new philosophy, and a lean cost structure," the analystwrote.
-- Shares of Motorola were up 1/2 at 91-1/4.
((--Chicago Equities News at 312-408-8787,
chicago.equities.newsroom@reuters.com))



To: Labrador who wrote (560)8/4/1999 8:54:00 PM
From: Caxton Rhodes  Respond to of 13582
 
Motorola sees world of smart cars, refrigerators By Emily Kaiser
ROSEMONT, Ill., Aug 4 (Reuters) - Imagine a refrigerator
that knows when you are running low on milk -- and orders it
for you from an online grocer.
How about a car equipped with a wireless Internet device
that can play any song or movie whenever you like?
Wireless phone and computer chip maker Motorola Inc.,
, which drew its name and early success from car radios,
envisions a world in which those radios will be obsolete,
replaced by smart computers that help people communicate, make
driving easier and provide entertainment on demand.
"Your refrigerator really will talk to your online grocery
store, if you wish," Hector Ruiz, president of Motorola's
semiconductor products sector, said at a financial analysts'
meeting here on Tuesday.
Demand for these and other products that provide better
communication and technology will drive revenues in the coming
years, Motorola executives said.
Some luxury cars already carry global positioning systems
that can provide directions and online amenities such as
emergency roadside assistance and concierge services. The
online car of the future will have all of that, plus e-mail and
Internet access, real-time traffic and weather reports and on-
demand music and movies, Motorola officials said.
Mechanics will some day be able to diagnose car trouble
while you drive. Fingerprints could serve as your lifetime,
personal password to unlock your car, computer or phone.
The technology for many of these ideas already exists, but
it may be a few years before Motorola can line up content
providers and other partners it needs to commercialize them.
The Schaumburg, Ill.-based company has a long history of
technological innovation, from its early car radios to the two-
way radios that U.S. astronauts used on lunar landings.
Not all of its dreams have been immediately successful,
however. The biggest blight on Motorola's resume now is Iridium
LLC, , which allows users to make phone calls from
anywhere in the world via a network of satellites. The company
has struggled to sign up subscribers and is in danger of
defaulting on its loans, some of which Motorola guaranteed.
Motorola owns about 18 percent of Iridium and has said its
financial exposure to Iridium was $2.2 billion, including loan
guarantees and other investments.
One of Iridium's creditors, Chase Manhattan , has
told Motorola it has to guarantee $300 million of an existing
$800 million loan, saying "an event of default has occurred"
under the credit agreement between Iridium and its ChaseManhattan-led lenders.
In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission, Iridium said it did not think Chase's comments
would have a significant effect on restructuring negotiations
with lenders and Motorola.
Analysts said lingering concerns about Iridium weighed on
Motorola's stock on Tuesday and Wednesday, despite the upbeat
comments during the meeting. The shares were off 25 cents at
$90.50 in afternoon New York Stock Exchange trading after
falling $2.13 to $90.75 on Tuesday.
"The company needs to come out and say that they will walk
away from Iridium if they need to and they didn't say that,"
said Wojtek Uzdelewicz, an analyst with S.G. Cowen & Co.
Still, Uzdelewicz and others said Motorola's vision of the
future is not far-fetched. They said its focus on computer
chips and wireless phones would keep earnings healthy.
"That is clearly the trend, to add more and more
intelligence," said Mark Roberts, telecommunications analyst
with First Union. "Already, my coffee maker is so complicated,I can't use it."
((--Chicago Equities News at 312 408 8787,
chicago.equities.newsroom@reuters.com))