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Strategies & Market Trends : Zeev's Turnips - No Politics -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Kayaker who wrote (16410)	12/27/2001 3:51:04 PM
From: Softechie	Respond to of 99280

CNBC's FABER REPORT -2: Full Transcript Of 1 P.M. Report 27 Dec 15:09 The following is a full transcript the report aired shortly after 1 p.m. EDT Thursday by CNBC reporter David Faber. When the financial history of 2001 is written, one word would be featured prominently: bankruptcy. While the financial story of the year was the collapse of Enron the largest bankruptcy filing ever, Enron followed a long list of well-known and once highly valued companies up the courthouse steps. I've reported many times on the demise of most of the emerging telecommunication industry over the last year. But while telecom was the leading industry when it comes to insolvency, many storied names of American industry also hit skid row. Bethlehem Steel, Polaroid, Warnaco and W.R. Grace were among those companies filing this year. Grace was part of the flurry of companies forced to seek protection due to mounting liabilities from asbestos related claims. Litigants keep looking for companies with the deepest pockets, forcing still others to seek protection in bankruptcy. The pending cases of W.R. Grace, Federal-Mogul, USG, Armstrong World Industries, just to name a few of them, they have been consolidated in the bankruptcy court under the jurisdiction of Judge Wallens in Newark, N.J. That may help a process that is a difficult one. Bankruptcy attorney Deirdre Dillon explains: Dillon: The bankruptcy system is better off dealing with fully liquidated claims that people know the dollar amount, they can put them into a plan. The problem is with a lot of mass litigation you have numerous claims that don't have a set dollar amount yet and that is difficult for the bankruptcy system to deal with. Faber: The roll call in telecom is truly chilling: Teligent, ICG, 360, XO, At Home, Exodus, you name it. They all have either filed or undertaken restructurings that are the equivalent of bankruptcy and more will surely follow.Global Crossing and NTL, for example, both of which had enormous enterprise values, are seeking to restructure their balance sheets and may be forced to file in 2002. And while these companies managed to raise tens of billions from investors, it's unclear what value is left when they are forced to seek buyers for their assets. Winstar, a company that filed with $5 billion in assets and over $4 billion in debt, was recently sold for $42 million. David Resnick, who runs the restructuring practice at Rothschild, says with time, the magnitude of this wave will become clear: Resnick: The big story David, is going to be that several years from now people will look back and see how many telecom companies have filed and will compare that to the S&L crisis a number of years ago, and this telecom debacle will be huge and one of the more significant bankruptcy periods this company has had. Faber: And what about next year? Both Resnick and Dillon are predicting banner years for their business, which may not be good news for some shareholders. Dillon: I think because what is going on right now with all the job losses, the tightening of credit, various issues like that that we are not at the end of the cycle whatsoever. We are probably more at the beginning or middle of it, specially for retail. (END) DOW JONES NEWS 12-27-01 03:09 PM