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Technology Stocks : Alcatel (ALA) and France -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Yeadon who wrote (195)	11/12/1998 12:15:00 PM
From: Steve Fancy	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 3891

France's Alcatel Trims 140 Jobs In Wake Of Recent Reorganization Dow Jones Online News, Thursday, November 12, 1998 at 11:32 NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- France's Alcatel SA, which recently announced a reorganization of its telecommunications activities into three groups in the wake of a recent profit warning and financial-market turmoil, laid off 140 workers at a British plant that makes high-speed switches, Thursday's Washington Post reported. The company told the paper it doesn't plan to close its Alcatel Data Networks Inc. division in Loundoun County, which employs 550 people. The unit accounted for about $700 million in sales last year, the Post reported. Earlier this month, Alcatel (ALA) said its telecom activities would be set under: networking, for switching and mobile infrastructure and for mobile services and network services; access and transport, for transmission, access, submarine networks and space activities, and a focus on Internet technology; and enterprise and consumer, for the private networks and consumer market, comprising voice and data enterprise networks, GSM and Internet terminals. Chief Executive Serge Tchuruk had described the move as "an important step towards better customer service and meeting shareholder expectations." Alcatel continues to be under a cloud after it surprised shareholders with a profit warning after reporting poor first-half results Sept. 17. The shares fell 38% on the Paris stock market that day. The company had said its 1998 operating profit would fall about 1.5 billion francs ($266.6 million) short of estimates because of canceled equipment orders from big telephone operators and a deepening of the Asian and Russian economic crises. Alcatel and other equipment makers must face up to a more fundamental problem: The big, incumbent phone operators are cutting back or delaying infrastructure investments in the face of growing competition at home and uncertainty in Asian and Russian markets. The company was hit particularly hard by canceled orders from Deutsche Telekom AG. The German giant has deferred investing in certain "local access" infrastructure because it is currently forced by regulators to lease that portion of its network to rivals at low cost. Alcatel, France's once-struggling trains-to-telecommunications conglomerate, has been trying to reinvent itself as a high-tech company. It sold off loads of businesses and is expanding its satellite operations. The company recently purchased Texas-based telecom-equipment firm DSC Communications Corp. for about $4.4 billion in stock. Copyright (c) 1998 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

To: Yeadon who wrote (195)	11/16/1998 4:47:00 PM
From: Steve Fancy	Respond to of 3891

Yeadon, Alsthom does sound like a potential winner. Too bad ALA only holds 25%. It is 25% isn't it? Last story states that Alsthom reports first financial results since spin-off tomorrow. I would think this report should have some impact on ALA? sf

To: Yeadon who wrote (195)	11/16/1998 5:00:00 PM
From: Steve Fancy	Respond to of 3891

Australia: Tasmania Shortlists Power Project Developers Dow Jones Newswires -- November 11, 1998 MELBOURNE (Dow Jones)--Australia's Tasmania state government Thursday said it has short-listed four consortia that are vying to build a A$300 million-A$400 million undersea electricity cable, which would connect the island state's electricity grid to the mainland. The four consortia have been named as Australian Energy International (Basslink) Consortium, Taslink, South East Australia Link Consortium, and The National Grid Company. The government wants to have the electricity cable connection, known as Basslink, in operation by Oct. 30, 2002, and hopes to have decided on the successful application by November 1999. Australian Energy International (Basslink) comprises U.S. power company American Electric Power Co. Inc. (AEP), Hong Kong based CLP Holdings Ltd. (H.CLP), and the New South Wales state government's electricity grid company, Transgrid. Taslink comprises U.S. power company Texas Utilities Electric Co. (TXU), Norwegian cable manufacturer Alcatel Kabel Norge AS, and French transportation and engineering group ALSTOM SA. (ALS). South East Australia Link comprises Australian investment bank Macquarie Bank Ltd., New Zealand's electricity grid operator Transpower, Australian engineering company Burns and Roe Worley, Australian law firm, Freehill Hollingdale and Page, and Australian pension fund Unisuper Management Pty. Ltd. The sole participant in The National Grid Company is U.K. based National Grid Group Plc. (U.NGR). The short-listed consortia are scheduled to lodge their development proposals with the government by July 15, 1999, with a final short-list of two consortia to be established by September 1, 1999. The successful consortium will build, own and operate Basslink, which is expected to have a capacity to carry around 300 megawatts. Tasmania's minister for infrastructure, energy and resources, Paul Lennon, said Basslink will provide Tasmania with access to energy sources on the mainland, and will complement efforts to develop the state's own offshore gas natural fields. "Basslink will complement the Government's efforts to bring natural gas ashore to Tasmania, while at the same time increasing opportunities to attract the major industrial and manufacturing developments required to underpin growth and jobs into the twenty-first century. -By Andrew Trounson; 61-3-9619-9348; atrounson@ap.org

To: Yeadon who wrote (195)	11/16/1998 5:02:00 PM
From: Steve Fancy	Respond to of 3891

Salomon Starts Alstom At Neutral; Target Price FRF160/Shr>ALS Dow Jones Newswires -- November 12, 1998 PARIS (Dow Jones)--Salomon Smith Barney Thursday started its coverage of Franco-British engineering company Alstom SA (ALS) at neutral with a 12-month target price of FRF160 per share. The report cites worries over Asia's depressive effect on revenues but noted that the group's transport division is doing quite well. At 1417 GMT, Alstom shares were down FRF0.7 at FRF135.2.

To: Yeadon who wrote (195)	11/16/1998 5:04:00 PM
From: Steve Fancy	Respond to of 3891

Sithe Energies To Build 230-MW Power Plant In Mexico Dow Jones Newswires -- November 12, 1998 NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Sithe Energies plans to build a 230-megawatt electric power plant in central Mexico to serve cement plants owned by Cemex, Sithe Energies said in a news release. Sithe Energies, in a consortium with Alstom SA, is to develop, finance, build and operate the fluidized-bed petroleum coke-burning unit. Coke is the the residue left after other refined products are distilled from petroleum. The plant is expected to cost about $300 million and to begin operating in February 2002, Sithe Energies said.

To: Yeadon who wrote (195)	11/16/1998 5:06:00 PM
From: Steve Fancy	Respond to of 3891

REPEAT: Alstom Shrs Up 8.5% to FRF146.8 On Contracts News Dow Jones Newswires -- November 13, 1998 PARIS (Dow Jones)--Alstom SA (ALS) stock surged 8.5% to FRF146.8 in early trading Friday on the Paris Bourse after the Anglo-French transportation engineering company clinched three big contracts in the past four days. "It's the combination of all those contract announcements since the beginning of the week," said a Paris-based trader with a French brokerage house. South Korea's Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co. (Q.HDC) said Friday that Alstom had agreed to invest $300 million in the construction of a railway linking Seoul to a new international airport. The commitment enabled Alstom to become a member of a five-company consortium that will build the railway. On Monday, Alstom disclosed that it received a $132 million contract to supply 44 cars, a signalling system and electrification services for a new line in the Caracas metro system. Also on Monday, French media-to-utilties conglomerate Vivendi and Alstom said they would sign a FRF1.65 billion contract to build a 230-megawatt petroleum coke power plant in Mexico. That deal was signed Thursday with Mexican authorities in the context of French President Jacques Chirac's visit to Mexico. Alstom shares are also traded in New York and in London. Traders on the Paris Bourse said Alstom shares' impressive climb Friday may also partially reflect a technical rebound after months of poor performance after the company's initial public offering in July. "Probably, this rally is partly a technical bounce. Alstom shares were badly hit this summer at the height of the worries about Asia and also when Alcatel plummeted following its profit warning in mid-September," one trader said. Alstom shares finished their first day of trading on July 15 at FRF197.5. On Oct. 2, two weeks after Alcatel issued the devastating profit warning that caused the French telecoms equipment maker to lose 38% of its market capitalization in one day, Alstom shares fell to an all-time low of FRF109.5. Alcatel SA (ALA) retains a 24% stake in Alstom, which explains why Alstom shares were so affected by the Alcatel profit warning. General Electric PLC of the U.K. also retains a 24% stake in Alstom. The rest of the capital belongs to employees and the public. -By John Carreyrou; 33 (0) 1 53 00 03 03; jcarreyrou@ap.org

To: Yeadon who wrote (195)	11/16/1998 5:07:00 PM
From: Steve Fancy	Respond to of 3891

Lehman Brothers Starts Alstom At Outperform; Shrs Up>ALS Dow Jones Newswires -- November 16, 1998 PARIS (Dow Jones)--Lehman Brothers on Monday started coverage of Franco-British engineering company Alstom SA (ALS) with an outperform rating and a year-end 1999 price target of FRF175. The investment bank said its earnings-per-share estimates were FRF11.0 for 1998 and FRF10.4 for 1999. "All earnings assumptions for Alstom are rendered extremely uncertain by the provisional basis of the pro forma data provided by the company for the acquisition of (French electrical equipment group) Cegelec," said the investment bank in a research note. Alstom's shares were trading at FRF152.3 recently, up FRF7.3, or 5%. Traders said the stock was receiving a boost from news that Alstom is planning to double it sales in the U.S. in the next five years.

To: Yeadon who wrote (195)	11/16/1998 5:09:00 PM
From: Steve Fancy	Respond to of 3891

UK Min To Visit Croatia To Support PowerGen, Alstom Pwr Bid LONDON (Dow Jones)--U.K. Minister for Trade Brian Wilson will visit Croatia this Wednesday to press for a British company to win a GBP740 million contract to build and operate a new power plant on the Adriatic Coast. U.K. generator PowerGen PLC (PWG) and Franco-British engineering company Alstom SA (ALS) are heading consortia looking to build a 700 megawatt independent coal-fired power plant in Croatia. U.S. giant AES Corp. (AES) has also been short-listed by the project instigator, Croatian state electricity company Hrvatska Elektropriveda (HEP). "My priority is to support British companies fighting to win contracts overseas and sustain jobs at home. In this case, both of those involved - Alstom and PowerGen - asked me to put their case directly to the Croatian Government," Wilson said in a Department of Trade and Industry statement. PowerGen, which is bidding with Germany's Veba Kraftwerke Ruhr, part of Veba AG (VEB), is looking to both build and maintain the power plant. The Alstom consortium plans to leave the maintenance work to a separate organization, a DTI spokeswoman said. The Croatian government is expected to make a final decision on the bid that is eventually proposed by HEP before the end of November. A power purchase agreement is due to be signed in March 1999. While in Croatia, Wilson will address the Central European Initiative (CEI) Forum of Economic Ministers.

To: Yeadon who wrote (195)	11/16/1998 5:10:00 PM
From: Steve Fancy	Read Replies (5) \| Respond to of 3891

Alcatel, MTI Tech In Intl Volume Purchase Pact ANAHEIM, Calif. (Dow Jones)--MTI Technology Corp. (MTIC) signed a volume purchase pact to sell storage products and support services to Alcatel (ALA). Financial terms weren't disclosed. In a press release Monday, MTI Technology said over the next two years Alcatel plans to acquire 70 to 100 terabytes of disk storage and tape backup capacity for new IT client/server systems and for replacement and migration products. Products covered under the agreement include MTI Gladiator disk arrays, automated DLTape libraries, Legato NetWorker backup software and maintenance and professional services. MTI makes data storage products. Alacatel, Paris, is a telecommunications company.

To: Yeadon who wrote (195)	11/18/1998 2:34:00 PM
From: Steve Fancy	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 3891

Yeadon, does this news impact DIGI (ALA)? Thanks, sf ============================================== (UPDATE) Motorola Launches Digital Wireless Equipment Factory In Brazil Dow Jones Online News, Tuesday, November 17, 1998 at 18:58 SAO PAULO -(Dow Jones)- Motorola Inc. Tuesday launched a digital wireless equipment factory in Brazil, the semiconductior and wireless technology giant's first such plant outside of the U.S. Motorola (MOT) said that the new factory will have an initial annual output capacity of one million units of the i1000, the latest model of Motorola's integrated digital enhanced network technology. The iDEN device - which integrates digital paging, two-way radio, and cell phone- is designed for the corporate market. Copyright (c) 1998 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

To: Yeadon who wrote (195)	11/18/1998 2:35:00 PM
From: Steve Fancy	Respond to of 3891

CORRECTED-Motorola to invest $200 mln in Brazil Reuters, Wednesday, November 18, 1998 at 13:02 In Nov. 17 SAO PAULO story headlined "Motorola to invest $200 mln in Brazil through 2002" please read in fifth paragraph "The handset uses Motorola's iDen digital wireless technology and Nextel Communications Corp's (NASDAQ:NXTL) network..." instead of "...iDen digital wireless communications technology developed by Nextel Communications Corp. (NASDAQ:NXTL)..." (Corrects to show that iDen technology was developed by Motorola and the network by Nextel). A corrected version follows. SAO PAULO, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Motorola Inc. (NYSE:MOT) announced the opening of a new Brazilian plant on Tuesday at a telecommunications complex, bringing total investments in the last three years to $150 million. Motorola do Brasil plans to invest another $200 million through 2002 to expand its business, said Dante Iacovone, the company's director. "This shows our clear commitment to Brazil," Iacovone said during a press conference in Sao Paulo. "Our investment plans through 2002 are aggressive." Motorola announced the opening of its fourth factory in Brazil, and just the latest component of a huge telecommunications complex that the company is developing in Jaguariuna, near Campinas in Sao Paulo. The plant will produce a handset that can be used as a cellular phone, radio or pager. The handset uses Motorola's iDen digital wireless technology and Nextel Communications Corp's (NASDAQ:NXTL) network. The $20 million factory will have the capacity to produce one million units a year, which will sell for between $500 and $700 each, though the company declined to comment on what sales expectations were. Motorola and Nextel hope to sell the iDen i1000 units to Brazilian companies and eventually to export them to countries in the Mercosur trading bloc. Depending on demand, they could also be exported to the United States. shasta.darlington@reuters.com)) Copyright 1998, Reuters News Service