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Technology Stocks : SDLI - JDSU transition -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Sultan who wrote (1455)	5/11/2001 1:14:24 AM
From: BDR	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 3294

I think this is a free article on wsj.com: Telecom Debt Debacle Could Lead To Losses of Historic Proportions interactive.wsj.com As the epic telecom bust reverberates around the globe, it's getting to be a very long line. Telecom companies, which gorged on some $650 billion in debt in the past few years, are failing in record numbers for that industry. It's shaping up to be one of the biggest financial fiascoes ever, with losses to investors expected to approach the $150 billion government cleanup of the savings-and-loan industry a decade ago. "I don't know if there's a modern-day precedent for the billions of losses" to investors from the telecom industry, says Greg Dube, head of global high-yield investments at Alliance Capital. What's unprecedented -- besides the staggering debt totals -- is how little the assets of the troubled telecom companies will likely be worth as the restructurings play out. Past bankruptcy waves, such as those that swept the rail, retail, steel and movie-theater businesses, left bondholders with about 40 cents on the dollar, while bank lenders usually got most of their money back. But bond investors may not be able to salvage much more than 10 cents on the dollar from the telecom restructurings, with banks also taking a hit, according to analysts. One reason: The industry's high-tech gear becomes outdated at such a rapid clip.