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Strategies & Market Trends : Telebras (TBH) & Brazil -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Steve Fancy who wrote (11721)	1/14/1999 4:59:00 PM
From: Bob Howarth	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 22640

Great strategy. Devalue and raise rates even higher. Did I miss something here?

To: Steve Fancy who wrote (11721)	1/14/1999 5:14:00 PM
From: David Petty	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 22640

If I were one of the bidders, I sure know I would cut my bid in half... you are right, the gov't will postpone/enforce minimum.

To: Steve Fancy who wrote (11721)	1/14/1999 5:59:00 PM
From: Steve Fancy	Respond to of 22640

Analysts Say BellSouth Might Face Charges Because Of Brazil Crisis Dow Jones Online News, Thursday, January 14, 1999 at 16:53 NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- Baby Bell phone company BellSouth Corp., which has invested heavily in Brazil, Thursday said the Brazilian currency meltdown won't change its strategy alsthough some analysts suggest that the company eventually will have to take charges. The Atlanta-based Bell (BLS) offers telecomm services in nine Latin American countries stretching from Nicaragua to Argentina. Its most important investments are in Brazil, where BellSouth leads two groups that invested more than $3 billion for cellular licenses, including service to the Sao Paulo metropolitan area. "The devaluation will have some effect on currency exchange rates, and we're keeping an eye on these developments," said BellSouth. As for possible future charges, the firm said, "We'll take a look at the appropriate time and make a judgment." Other telecom companies with investments in ravaged emerging markets have already made a judgment. Following the abrupt resignation Wednesday by Brazil's central banker - and his successor's decision to allow the Brazilian currency, the real, to fall more than 8% against the dollar - Motorola Inc. (MOT) announced Thursday that it will take a $15 million charge on first-quarter earnings. The company also indicated that economic turmoil in Latin America's most populous nation could slow Motorola's overall sales growth in the region. Late last year, Asia's financial crisis led another Baby Bell - Bell Atlantic Corp. (BEL) - to take third-quarter charges of $545 million, or 35 cents per share, for write-downs in the value of its Thai and Indonesian holdings. So far, BellSouth has realized limited net income from its Brazilian holdings and has therefore seen minimal earnings impact despite the financial turmoil, said Tom Grimes, a telecom analyst for the W.H. Reeves, which manages the Strong America Utilities Fund. But others say that with the confusion and turmoil surrounding the real's devaluation, a write-down shouldn't be summarily dismissed. "It's certainly more likely now than a week ago," said Robert Wilkes, an analyst with Brown Brothers Harriman. Nonetheless, BellSouth reaffirmed its commitment to Latin America, and to Brazil in particular, just as it did during last year's financial crisis. "I don't think (the devaluation) has had any effect on our strategy," said Doyle, the company spokesman. "Our assessment of Brazil was, and continues to be, that it is a good long-term investment." In fact, as recently as November, BellSouth actually raised its stakes in Brazil, Doyle noted. The company increased its position in the Sao Paulo consortium to 44.5% from an initial 41% of the $2.5 billion investment; and for a wireless license covering six states in the northeastern region, BellSouth increased its stake to 46% from 42%. Still, some industry observers question whether the Bell plans to expand its footprint in Brazil. In December, it elected not to participate in an auction for the so-called mirror licenses, or concessions the government is granting to compete with the recently privatized Telecomunicacoes Brasileiras S.A., or Telebras (TBR). Noting that two more of these licenses will be auctioned in March, Doyle said BellSouth is still considering a bid. Copyright (c) 1999 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

To: Steve Fancy who wrote (11721)	1/14/1999 6:00:00 PM
From: Steve Fancy	Respond to of 22640

Brazil shares skid nearly 10 pct at jittery close Reuters, Thursday, January 14, 1999 at 16:39 SAO PAULO, Jan 14 (Reuters) - Brazilian shares took a nosedive at the close Thursday as fears of a further devaluation unhinged an already jittery market, traders said. Sao Paulo's key Bovespa (INDEX:$BVSP.X) index ended down 9.97 percent at 5,057 points after earlier triggering a circuit breaker to halt trade with a 10 percent plunge on worries the new currency trading band put in place Wednesday might not hold. "It's a very complicated situation and everyone is trying to get out," one local trader said. Share prices have already lost more than 25 percent since the start of the year due to Brazil's deepening financial crisis. The market got a breather in early trade, surging on rallies in foreign markets and news that Wednesday's net dollar outflow was $1.09 billion, and not the mammoth outflow that had been feared following Brazil's surprise devaluation on Wednesday. But investors lost their nerve later in Thursday's session and sent share prices crashing back down, even though there was little hard news to warrant the sell off. "In a market as nervous as this one, anything will set it off," another local trader said. "We had every kind of rumor here today." The Central Bank said in a statement that the market nervousness was "absolutely normal". Copyright 1999, Reuters News Service Companies or Secu

To: Steve Fancy who wrote (11721)	1/14/1999 6:07:00 PM
From: Steve Fancy	Respond to of 22640

Brazil loses net $1.14 bln in forex markets Thurs Reuters, Thursday, January 14, 1999 at 16:53 SAO PAULO, Jan 14 (Reuters) - Brazil's net dollar outflows on Thursday reached $1.14 billion by 2120 GMT as fallout from the nation's currency devaluation continued, traders said. The figure, which was not seen changing much as remaining transactions were calculated, surpassed earlier market expectation of a $1 billion ceiling on Thursday's outflows, they said. The Central Bank implemented on Wednesday a new, wider trading band and Brazil's currency quickly tumbled 8 percent against the dollar. For the past two days, the Central Bank has been forced to sell dollars to keep the real within the new trading band set at between 1.20 and 1.32 to the dollar. Copyright 1999, Reuters News Service