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To: jhild who wrote (14807)	4/15/1998 12:26:00 PM
From: Moonray	Respond to of 22053

U.K. Businesses May Lose Credit If Year 2000 Bug Not Addressed London, April 15 (Bloomberg) -- U.K. banks may in the next 20 months withdraw lines of credit from businesses that fail to make sufficient preparation for the Year 2000 problem, said Tim Sweeney, director general of the British Bankers' Association. Sweeney told a journalists' briefing that bankers already include businesses' Year 2000 preparation as a factor in assessing credit risk and failure to address the problem could be the deciding factor that cancels a line of credit. ''If bankers get the view that their ability to repay the debt is reduced . . . then some lines would be withdrawn,'' said Sweeney. The Year 2000 bug threatens to cripple some of the world's largest companies and government agencies. Many computer programs, unless they are updated, will read ''00'' in dates occurring from midnight Jan. 1, 2000 as the year 1900. That could erase essential data and shut down other systems that use computer-driven calendars to monitor their internal operations. Sweeney said banks overall are proceeding on adjusting their systems to avert problems in January 2000, and the main concern is with their medium-sized corporate customers. He said large businesses have the resources to address the problems and small businesses often don't even have information technology systems. But a company with 50 or so employees may have a small system and lack the expertise to see that it is updated. The association is also studying what industry sectors are the least prepared for the Year 2000 problem, although the study is not yet complete. John Thirlwell, a director with the association, said U.K. banks have enough staff to update their systems for the creation of the European single currency next year and the Year 2000 bug. However, he added the banks are putting some new initiatives on hold because they do not want to overload their information technology staffs. The association has asked the British government not to pass any legislation that might add to banks' information technology workload. o~~~ O

To: jhild who wrote (14807)	4/15/1998 3:27:00 PM
From: Moonray	Respond to of 22053

IBM WorkPad Arms Mobile Users with a Powerful Productivity Tool for E-Business - 01:31 p.m Apr 15, 1998 Eastern NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 15, 1998--IBM(a) today announced enhancements to its WorkPad(a) PC Companion, providing mobile users with a pocket-size e-tool that provides immediate access to enterprise information anytime, anywhere. The new IBM WorkPad PC Companion incorporates a sleek, new industrial design and offers increased memory for customized applications, infrared(IR) beaming for wireless connectivity and file-linking functions for quick, easy access to enterprise applications.(1) guide-p.infoseek.com o~~~ O

To: jhild who wrote (14807)	4/15/1998 3:41:00 PM
From: Moonray	Respond to of 22053

Shiva to Fire 125, Take Up to $12 Mln Charge in Restructuring Bedford, Massachusetts, April 15 (Bloomberg) -- Shiva Corp. said it will fire 125 employees, or 22 percent of its workforce, and take a pretax charge of $9 million to $12 million as part of a restructuring at the struggling computer-networking company. Shiva, whose remote-access equipment links computers to corporate networks and the Internet, will take the charge in the second quarter and fire the workers in the next several months. The company said the moves will save it $10 million to $15 million annually, beginning in the third quarter. The company once was among the market leaders for networking equipment sold to phone companies and Internet service providers. Shiva now has posted four straight quarters of declining revenue as larger competitors Cisco Systems Inc. and Ascend Communications Corp. introduced competing gear. Shiva will close its Edinburgh, Scotland, plant, where it conducted joint engineering research with telecommunications- equipment maker Northern Telecom Ltd. It will relocate some technical-support workers to a plant in Wokingham, U.K. In March, Northern Telecom and Shiva signed an $80 millio contract calling for Northern to buy and resell Shiva products and pay licensing fees for Shiva technology. Last month, though, Northern bought startup Aptis Communications Inc., which makes large, powerful networking equipment for the telecom carrier market. At the time, analysts said the purchase made further cooperation between Shiva and Northern Telecom less likely. In the second quarter a year ago, Shiva had a loss of $996,000, or 3 cents a share, on revenue of $39.7 million. Shiva, based in Bedford, Massachusetts, was unchanged at 10 3/16 in midafternoon trading. The shares have fallen from their high of 85 5/8 in June 1996. o~~~ O