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Technology Stocks : WCOM -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: waldemar cyranski who wrote (11137)	7/3/2002 4:30:59 PM
From: willcousa	Respond to of 11568

Only the value in your IRA above your non- tax deductible IRA contributions is taxed. If all of your contributions were tax deductible, then you won't benefit from the wcom losses. On the other hand, if none of your IRA contributions were tax deductible you will benefit fully from the wcom losses. Hope this is clear.

To: waldemar cyranski who wrote (11137)	7/3/2002 7:03:09 PM
From: H James Morris	Respond to of 11568

Waldy, its not over until its over... Yogi Berra. By Jonathan Krim and Christopher Stern The Washington Post STEFAN ZAKLIN / GETTY IMAGES WorldCom CEO John Sidgmore: “We want the bad guys exposed and the bad guys punished.” WorldCom Chief Executive Officer John Sidgmore went on the offensive to save his besieged company yesterday, apologizing for its $3.8 billion accounting scandal, meeting with top federal regulators and declaring, "America has a major stake in our survival." Sidgmore, who took over as CEO two months ago, said WorldCom is "a key component of our nation's economy and communications infrastructure. Both commercial and national security interests rely upon WorldCom's operations continuing without disruption." And he committed the company to fully cooperating with numerous ongoing investigations no matter where they lead at the provider of long-distance telephone and Internet-transmission services. "We want the bad guys exposed and the bad guys punished," he said at a news conference in Washington. "... I want to apologize on behalf of everyone at WorldCom." Although he would not rule out bankruptcy, Sidgmore said he is negotiating with banks to restructure the company's debt and to seek an additional $1 billion in loans. He said the company expects to have two bank proposals by the weekend. The company has about $2 billion in the bank, and Sidgmore pledged that its existing services, including its Internet "backbone" that handles roughly half the Internet's traffic, remain operational and secure. Answering questions in calm, matter-of-fact tones, Sidgmore said that if the company's debt is not restructured, it would face problems meeting a $2 billion interest payment due early next year. Underlying Sidgmore's activities was a clear campaign that WorldCom should not be allowed to fail. But the company faces enormous hurdles. The 50 banks that own its debt can demand immediate repayment, which would immediately force the company into bankruptcy. "It's going to be very challenging, if not impossible, for them to come back," said Charles Ullerich, who manages junk bonds at ABN Amro Asset Management and has been selling WorldCom bonds in recent months. "Sidgmore can say anything he wants, and even if he walked on water, it would be difficult for people to invest in his story." WorldCom already was negotiating an extension on $5 billion in loans before it announced it had inflated its earnings. Meanwhile, other companies have begun to circle, looking to pick up its assets at bargain prices. Last night, IDT, a New Jersey company that has acquired distressed telecommunications companies, said it would offer $5 billion for MCI's residential long-distance business and its small-business unit, plus MFS, a former upstart local telephone company that WorldCom purchased in 1996 for $14 billion. WorldCom spokesman Brad Burns said, "It would be highly unlikely that we would sell off our core assets such as MCI or our local business." IDT CEO Howard Jonas accused Sidgmore of ignoring his proposal, saying Sidgmore is trying to use scare tactics to persuade the government to pressure the banks into extending further credit. Sidgmore said he did not know whether WorldCom's founder and former CEO, Bernard Ebbers, had any prior knowledge of the $4 billion hole in the company's books. "We don't know whether he was involved, and we don't know whether he wasn't involved, and that's the truth," he said. As for Scott Sullivan, the chief financial officer fired last week, Sidgmore referred to his role in addressing why the accounting lapses weren't detected earlier. He called WorldCom "a far-flung operation." "No single operating unit knows what's going on in the rest of the organization, and it all came together at Scott Sullivan's level, to be honest with you," Sidgmore said. Information from Bloomberg News and The Associated Press is included in this report.

To: waldemar cyranski who wrote (11137)	7/3/2002 7:27:56 PM
From: Yani Strei	Read Replies (4) \| Respond to of 11568

"Amongst all the wise and learned posters to this thread, would someone please suggest a course of action that I may take? I know from previous experiences that the "class action" filings can go on for years, generate tons of paper work and only the attorneys get publicity and make money. Therefore that action is meaningless!" I am not responding to your question but rather would like to pose similar questions. If you join a class action suit against WCOM, doesn't it mean that you are suing yourself if you are still currently holding the WCOM shares (it therefore puts yourself in a worse position since the stock price would go down further)? Shouldn't the civil or/and criminal suits be directed towards the executives who are responsible for what happened to the company? I joined a class action against Tandon along time ago - what I got were discount certificates to buy their products while the lawyers got the real money and the shares I held became worthless. So I have given up filing class action suit forms (which I received quite a lot in the last two years). Since I am a current WCOM stockholder, do you think it's a good thing not to join the class action suit? Thanks.

To: waldemar cyranski who wrote (11137)	7/4/2002 3:08:24 PM
From: tejek	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 11568

Et Al....I am a 74 yr. old with all my investments in my IRA. The WCOM debacle has devastated my funds. In normal IRA transactions I clearly understood that upon withdrawal of funds one pays the US tax on profits at whatever tax rate on happens to be in at the end of the tax year. I also understood that losses are not deductible. However, WCOM is not an ordinary loss that can be considered "poor investment" judgement on my part. All the research data and recommendations pointed to WCOM being a good investment as described by America's top brokers and analyst. It was based on this info. that I made my purchase at $38 a share. From what you've said, it sounds like you had a number of WCOM shares in your IRA account. Not to diminish the abilities of the posters on this thread, but I would recommend that you have a good accountant look at the situation. I think any answer and remedy should take into consideration your overall financial situation. And I believe that's something only an accountant who has the full story can do best. And I'm sorry you have been stung this way. However slim, there is still the hope that Sidgmore can turn silk out of a sow's ear. And what I am about to say may provide little solace to you, but the honest people on the Street are calling for heads to roll; that the simple apology provided by the Sedgmores of the world is not nearly satisfactory. People like K. Lay, D. Kowloski [sp?], S. Sullivan, and probably Ebbers deserve to pay with more than a slap on their hands for the debacle they have created. Good luck! ted