Stocks For Dad
TMF Jeanie's Stock For
Dad
WorldCom, Inc. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: WCOM)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: WCOM)") end if %>
515 E. Amite St.
Jackson, MS 39201-2702
(601)
360-8600
Company
Snapshot
Dear Dad,
Remember how you used to yell at me to get off the phone when I was a teenager?
I can still hear your favorite rant: "My God, girl, with the amount of time
you spend on the phone we should own stock in AT&T."
Of course, back then there was just one phone company, homes had one line,
and the phone stayed permanently fixed to one spot. A lot has changed since
then -- except for the fact that I'm still obsessed with the telephone. In
a way, your exasperation with my phone yakking may have inspired my fascination
with telecommunications. Only now my "yakking" is called "chatting," and
I do it with my hands on a keyboard instead of a phone to my ear.
So you never owned stock in AT&T after all, but that's okay because this
industry is still in its infancy. New companies have sprung up that give
every indication of being the giants of the next century. My favorite is
WORLDCOM <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: WCOM)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: WCOM)") end if %>.
Here's what we're hoping for: Projected 30% growth in revenues and
earnings over the next 10 years. WorldCom is already the fourth-largest long
distance telecom in the United States and it owns the world's largest provider
of Internet services, UUNET Technologies. But its aggressive focus on world
dominance is where this company may emerge as a 21st century telecom giant.
They're making major investments in strategic long distance, cross-border
networks. These include a 20-gigabit transatlantic cable system and a
pan-European fiber-optic network. Both of these new systems are due to be
operational in early 1998.
Just last month, WorldCom signed an agreement with Deutsche Telekom to
interconnect Germany's public networks by January '98. In another aggressive
move toward global dominance, WorldCom formed a consortium with marine-based
conglomerate SembCorp Ltd and the state-owned Singapore rapid transit system
to make a joint bid for a license to provide fixed telephone service to rival
the local monopoly in Singapore.
Here's what to look out for: Mergers and more mergers. The mighty
T hasn't rolled over yet. AT&T knows how to make a profit for itself,
if not for its shareholders, in recent years. Now that may be changing with
its rumored intention to merge with SBC (itself a merged entity formed by
Southwestern Bell and Pacific Telesis) creating a new force to be reckoned
with in the local markets. But it's the global market you should keep an
eye on, dad. This is where WorldCom wants to rule -- and formidable competition
will be presented by British Telecom in the bid for the Singapore business.
For now, my money's on WorldCom, because I tend to favor brash upstarts --
something I don't have to remind you of, right? Give it a look and I'll call
you. We can yak about it at ten cents a minute.
Happy Father's Day with love from # 1 daughter,
Jeanie
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