Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Technology Stocks : Ascend Communications (ASND) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: djane who wrote (50406)	7/26/1998 4:21:00 PM
From: Kent Rattey	Respond to of 61433

Date Name Action Shares Type Price Value 17-Jul-98 MACHLIN ROBERT N Planned Sale (144) 22,638 Common - $1,204,471 17-Jul-98 SMITH DANIEL E Planned Sale (144) 202,570 Common - $10,918,523

To: djane who wrote (50406)	7/26/1998 5:39:00 PM
From: Bindusagar Reddy	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 61433

Here is the link to a Bloomberg article, Hard to believe they did not mention ASND in that article, that's how superficial the knowledge of the reporters is. We know that ATT uses ATM core switches from ASND and WAN is important part of this future network. bloomberg.com

To: djane who wrote (50406)	7/26/1998 9:31:00 PM
From: djane	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 61433

U.S. Corporate Bonds: WorldCom Attractive to Buyers (Update1) (via WCOM thread) Bloomberg News July 24, 1998, 12:05 p.m. ET (Adds investor comment on demand for WorldCom bonds in 3rd paragraph and description of trading strategy in WorldCom bonds in 7th through 9th paragraphs.) New York, July 24 (Bloomberg) -- WorldCom's proposed bond sale of up to $5 billion is already attracting investors eager to buy some of what could be the biggest corporate bond sale ever. The company, which is poised to become the No. 2 U.S. long- distance telephone company after it buys MCI Communications Corp., has not yet proposed any interest rates for the bonds, though investors are already predicting strong demand. Large bond sales often carry wider spreads over Treasuries than smaller sales, and WorldCom is a highly regarded company with a history of strong profit growth. ''Everyone will want to get involved,'' said James Claire, a senior trader at First Capital Group, a division of First Union National Bank of North Carolina. He said WorldCom is among their top telecommunications picks and one of their largest holdings. ''We plan to add to it when the new deal comes.'' Yesterday, WorldCom said second-quarter earnings rose more than fivefold on surging sales of Internet and other data services. Investors say WorldCom is preparing to sell $3 billion to $5 billion of bonds, though details are sketchy. Presentations to investors are expected the first week of August. Because large sales typically carry extra yield to attract enough buyers, they often outperform other bonds in secondary market trading. Niagara Mohawk Power Corp.'s 7 3/4 percent 10- year notes, the largest part of last month's $3.45 billion sale, are up about 4 1/4 points since the sale, and are quoted at 7.19 percent. Their spread over Treasuries -- set at a generous 225 basis points at the sale -- narrowed to 175 basis points. Some investors are already positioning themselves to take advantage of what they hope will be a similar pattern for WorldCom's bonds. Trading Strategy Claire said some investors are probably selling their existing WorldCom holdings to make room for the new bonds, which will be more actively traded and, at least initially, stand a better chance of strengthening than the older securities. The prospect of a flood of new WorldCom bonds helped widen the yield spread between telephone bonds and Treasuries. WorldCom's outstanding 7.75 percent notes due in 2007 widened 4 basis points to 105, traders said. U S West Inc.'s 6.375 percent notes due in 2008 -- part of the local phone company's $3.1 billion sale last month -- widened about 3 basis points to 98. In January, WorldCom filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission to sell as much as $5 billion of debt securities. If the sale turns out to be that much, it would exceed the $4.3 billion record for corporate bond sales set by Norfolk Southern Corp. last year. The WorldCom sales comes at a time when many companies are eager to take advantage of low interest rates. Bausch & Lomb Inc., Host Marriott Corp. and a handful of other companies are gearing up to sell as much as $5.5 billion of bonds next week. Among other telephone companies, Chicago-based Telephone & Data Systems Inc. plans to sell $150 million of 30-year bonds at a yield of about 140 to 150 basis points more than Treasuries. Thirty-year Treasury bonds are unchanged at 5.66 percent. Earlier this month, the Treasury bond hit 5.57 percent, the lowest since the government started regular sales of the securities in 1977. ''Rates are so attractive we've fixed a large part of our (financing) needs,'' said Dale Cable, treasurer at American Greetings Corp., which sold $300 million of 30-year bonds Wednesday. The second-largest greetings card company plans to use proceeds to repay short-term debt. --Kathleen Spillane in the New York newsroom (212) 318-2034 with