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Technology Stocks : Nortel Networks (NT) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Stocker who wrote (3254)	8/30/1999 7:19:00 PM
From: Stocker	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 14638

Monday August 30, 9:08 am Eastern Time FOCUS-AT&T orders, apology hurt Ericsson STOCKHOLM, Aug 30 (Reuters) - Shares in Swedish telecoms group AB LM Ericsson slid five percent on Monday after its most important U.S. customer, AT&T Corp (NYSE:T - news), signed contracts with Lucent Technologies Inc (NYSE:LU - news) and Nortel Networks Corp (Toronto:NT.TO - news). Ericsson, which had problems delivering equipment to AT&T earlier this year, will now see its share of AT&T telecoms equipment purchases fall to one-third from one-half. ``We had problems last spring. This is nothing to sweep under the rug. It may have hurt us,' Erik Osterberg, spokesman for Ericsson Operator, told Reuters. He said in future AT&T would increase its orders from Ericsson's competitors. Nortel had not supplied AT&T with equipment in the past. ``It's quite natural considering AT&T's explosive growth recently,' Osterberg said. ``The market will continue to grow sharply. In the short term we do not expect any loss as a result of this, but longer-term, we'll have to see.' In a move to catch up with the demand and relieve strains on its wireless communications services, particularly in big U.S. cities, AT&T said on Friday it would buy more infrastructure equipment from the two Ericsson competitors. Ericsson had previously been AT&T's biggest wireless infrastructure provider. AT&T said the expanding relationships would allow it to meet its demand for equipment and network capacity over the next four years for $900 million less than the company previously expected. AT&T released no financial details. To add to its woes, Ericsson said on Monday it had issued a public apology in Israel for an anti-Semitic tirade by the wife of a Swedish employee there and hoped its business would not be adversely affected. The employee's wife abused staff at a riding club outside Tel Aviv when they could not find the family horse's reins. Swedish newspapers reported she said Jews were thieves, liars and cheats and ``it was a shame Hitler did not finish off his job.' Ericsson whisked the couple with their two children out of Israel and said it was reviewing the employee's future. By 1245 GMT Ericsson shares were trading down 14.5 crowns or 5.15 percent at 267, while the all-share General index was down 1.15 percent. On Friday after AT&T's announcement Ericsson closed 12.34 crowns lower in New York than in Stockholm. ``Of course this is negative but the main reason for the fall is the AT&T deal,' said one broker. ``It's not good that AT&T passed by Ericsson,' another broker said.