Global Crossing Rearranges Management Deck Chairs

Northwest Mutual Funds Eyes Merger Northwest Mutual Funds wants to merge the Northwest Specialty Resource Fund into Northwest Specialty Equity Fund, pending unitholder and regulatory approval.3 Plansponsor.comAFBA 5Star Funds Increases its Family AFBA 5Star Funds has recently added the AFBA

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Northwest Mutual Funds Eyes Merger
Northwest Mutual Funds wants to merge the Northwest Specialty Resource Fund into Northwest Specialty Equity Fund, pending unitholder and regulatory approval.3-Plansponsor.comAFBA 5Star Funds Increases its Family
AFBA 5Star Funds has recently added the AFBA 5Star Small Cap Fund and AFBA 5Star Science & Technology Fund to its family. The funds are sub-advised by Kornitzer Capital Management and are now available for certain retirement plans.3-Plansponsor.comInvestment Company Institute Releases Mutual Fund Review
The Investment Company Institute, the leading authority on the US mutual fund industry, has released its annual review. Surprisingly, it finds that retail investors have remained committed despite weak equity markets, the events of September 11 and the worst returns from mutual fund investing for six years. Mutual funds distributed an estimated $72 billion in capital gains to shareholders in 2001, the lowest level since 1995 and down significantly from an unprecedented $326 billion in 2000 and the generally high distributions of the past decade.Mutual funds actually reported a record net inflow of $504 billion, up from $389 billion in 2000 and the previous record of $477 billion in 1998. Nor did the money flow into money marketor bond funds only. During the year all fund categories-stock, hybrid, bond, and money market-reported inflows. As aresult, despite plunging market values, total mutual fund assets stood at $6.97 trillion at the end of 2001, virtually unchanged from $6.96 trillion as the year began. The record inflows of new cash simply offset negative equity performance throughout much of 2001, the second year in succession of fallling equity prices. However, the pace of new fund formation did slow down in 2001. On balance, fund sponsors created 165 new funds, down from 365 in 2000. Several fund complexes involved in mergers in recent years also continued to streamline their product offerings by combining funds with overlapping investment objectives. The report includes final 2001 year-end data for fund assets and flows, a review of fund industry trends, and an analysis of mutual fund shareholder reaction to last year’s bear market and the events of September 11. The full report is available here.Global Double Crossing – Vulgar Abuse of Management…?
Global Crossing, the network services provider to which SWIFT out-sourced its telecommunications needs last year, may be in Chapter 11 only but the company is already developing the first symptoms of Enronitis: web sites penned by angry investors and/or shareholders. See just how vulgar abuse of management can get by checking out http://www.globaldoublecrossing.comIslamic Conference: Who is Prepared To Brave Shoe-Bombers?
High marks for chutzpah go to Dow Jones for organising a conference on Islamic investment strategies in Dubai between 17 and 19 March. The shopping in the Emirate is famously good, and the organisers are surely right to believe that investing in Islamic countries will make the world a much safer place, but will those fund managers, institutional investors and financial journalists prepared to brave shoe-bombers and other hazards of flying today really want to pay $2,495 to attend a conference in the Gulf on Islamic investment strategies? Financing Islamic terrorism would surely be more topical.
Details in Events CalendarCapital Markets Revolutionary Becomes Promiscuous Investor
Patrick Young, scourge of exchange establishments throughout Europe, is back on the warpath. In 1999 Young published The Capital Markets Revolution, a lively, best-selling and highly influential account of the future of securities and derivatives trading which used the near-death experience of LIFFE (whose failure to switch from open outcry to electronic trading did more to create Eurex – and therefore Deutsche Borse – than any other single factor) as a fable about how not to react to liberalisation and technological change.(“No Small Change”, Global Custodian, Spring 2000)
Now Young has published what he calls a “management report.” But few such documents would hazard as racy a title as the one he has chosen: The Promiscuous Investor: Can Intermediaries Survive the Capital Market Revolution? His target, as before, is the stock exchange and derivatives establishment. And his contempt for their ability to handle change is as acidic as ever. He claims that their plans to carpet the world with liquid electronic marketplaces have omitted to take account of a killer constraint (lack of bandwidth); ignored left-field competitors (especially from the media: a business price discovery mechanisms such as exchanges are also in); and so emphasised technology at the expense of their real business ( attracting liquidity by the quality of their content: prices). Young argues that traditional exchanges can no longer count on the pulling power of their reputations (or what he calls brands) and need to start thinking economically rather than politically (and fast), especially when market participants are tiring of funding competing electronic marketplaces all over the shop. To read a synopsis of this “management report” written by the great man himself, click HERE And if you like that, you will probably also like”MONSTER mash”, Global Custodian, Summer 2000Global Crossing Rearranges Management Deck Chairs
Global Crossing today announced the appointment of Carl Grivner as chief operating officer and Anthony Christie as senior vice president of product management.Grivner, who had been serving as executive vice president of global operations, will oversee sales and marketing for enterprise and carrier customers, product management and global operations. He will continue to report directly to John Legere, chief executive officer of Global Crossing. Christie will be responsible for the development, deployment and on-going management of the company’s product and services suite, reporting to Grivner.”We’re putting Carl into position to help us meet our financial targets while we conserve resources by bringing three key functions – sales and marketing, product management and global operations – under one leader,” Legere said. “Carl will enhance the day-to-day operations for the company, and Anthony will concentrate on the products and services offered over our global fiber optic network, allowing me to drive our overall strategic restructuring and manage crucial communications.”Grivner has many years of operational experience and expertise. He has served as president of Global Crossing Europe, Middle East and Africa and as COO for Global Crossing North America. Prior to joining Global Crossing, Grivner was president and chief executive officer of WorldPort Communications. He is a former chief executive of operations in the Western Hemisphere for Cable & Wireless, and former president and CEO for Advanced Fiber Communications (AFC). Earlier in his career he held various positions with Ameritech and IBM. Grivner has a B.A. from Lycoming College.Christie joined Global Crossing as senior vice president of global strategy and business integration from Asia Global Crossing after a successful two years during which he supported the initial public offering (IPO) and shaped and drove strategy and business development activities as well as spearheading all of the joint venture, alliance relationships and partner capacity purchases in Asia.Christie has a rich background in telecommunications general management. Before he came to Asia Global Crossing, he spent 16 years at AT&T. He held multiple positions including general manager and network vice president at AT&T Solutions, sales vice president of business markets, regional managing director of international operations for Asia, and numerous other assignments in product management, marketing and sales. His education includes a B.S. from Drexel University, M.B.A. from the University of New Haven and an M.S. from M.I.T.Global Crossing Revenue Estimates for Q4 and 2001
Meanwhile, Global Crossing disclosed preliminary unaudited revenue estimates for the fourth quarter and whole of 2001. The net loss applicable to shareholders, says the company, is “expected to be significantly increased by write-off of all of Global Crossing’s remaining goodwill and other identifiable intangible assets, in addition to significant write-downs of its tangible assets.” This follows the entry of the company into Chapter 11 on January 28.Angry shareholders will be unamused to learn that the revenue estimates are subject to the final review of (yes, you guessed it) Arthur Andersen, auditors to Global Crossing as well as Enron. Global Crossing added that it is still evaluating the appropriate write-down of certain of its tangible assets. In addition, the accounting treatment of certain of its capacity transactions is under investigation by an independent committee of its board of directors, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the U. S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California.For Continuing Operations in the fourth quarter of 2001, Global Crossing expects to report Revenue of approximately $804 million, which includes Service Revenue of approximately $764 million. For the full year 2001, Global Crossing expects to report Revenue from Continuing Operations of approximately $3.2 billion, including approximately $3.1 billion in Service Revenue.Global Crossing also announced that it expects to report a significant Net Loss Applicable to Common Shareholders for the fourth quarter and the full year 2001. The 2001 loss will reflect items previously reported during the first three quarters, including restructuring charges of $294 million, $545 million related to the impairment of goodwill associated with its Global Marine unit, and $2,084 million due to the write down of Global Crossing’s equity investment portfolio, including its investment in Exodus Communications. In addition, Global Crossing’s net loss for both the fourth quarter and the full year are expected to reflect the write-off of Global Crossing’s remaining goodwill and other identifiable intangible assets (approximately $8 billion) as well as a multi-billion dollar write-down of its tangible assets. The write-off of goodwill and other identifiable intangible assets and write-down of tangible assets will be non-cash charges. These pending write-downs were previously discussed in Global Crossing’s September 30, 2001 Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.Commenting on the quarter’s performance, John Legere, CEO of Global Crossing said, “You can take a company’s measure by how it responds to adversity. I’m proud of the way Global Crossing employees have maintained outstanding service to our customers as we restructure and work through the Chapter 11 process. In the fourth quarter, we overcame a number of challenges to show strength in Service Revenue, which is the vast majority of our revenue mix and the expected source of our growth for the future. We’re pleased that customers have continued to choose our network over many others, demonstrating the appeal of our service offerings to our targeted customers — global enterprises and carriers. As we look forward to successfully emerging from Chapter 11, we’ll maintain our focus on serving customers.”Global Crossing reported that it holds approximately $1,520 million of cash in its bank accounts on a consolidated basis as of February 25, 2002. Included in that amount is approximately $492 million of cash in Asia Global Crossing bank accounts and approximately $327 million in other bank accounts that are restricted. These amounts do not represent Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) cash balances as of February 25, 2002.
Asia Global Crossing Revenue Estimates for Q4 and 2001
On 26 February Asia Global Crossing reported the following preliminary information concerning its unaudited financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2001. Final audited results may differ, and are dependent upon completion of an investigation into certain allegations regarding accounting and reporting (see “Financial Overview”) and determinations regarding asset impairments (see “Pacific Crossing Ltd.”). The company expects a material loss for the fourth quarter and for the year. As earnings will depend materially upon the final determination of asset impairments and could be affected by the conclusions of the investigations, no results of operations beyond revenue for the quarter or the full year are presented.break1″This is a critical time in our company’s history,” said Jack Scanlon, acting chief executive officer of Asia Global Crossing. “While most telecommunications companies have found the current business environment to be difficult, we have faced additional challenges specific to our parent company. Our resolve is strong, we see some promising activity, in particular on the recurring services side of our business, and we have taken important steps to grow this area. We have refocused our business strategy, added new members to our management team and retained outside financial advisors to help us through this time of change.” Asia Global Crossing noted that it has engaged external counsel to investigate allegations by a former employee of Global Crossing regarding the accounting for and disclosure of certain transactions of the kind described below under “Reciprocal Transactions.” Among other things, the allegations raise the question whether the company’s disclosures concerning such transactions, which were presented in addition to GAAP financials, created a misleading impression of sales activity. Asia Global Crossing does not expect the audit of its financial statements to be completed until after this investigation has been completed. The final audited results may differ from those presented below. See “Reciprocal Transactions” and “Investigations,” below. The company is also reviewing whether a charge is necessary to reflect impairment of its trans-Pacific cable system. See “Pacific Crossing Ltd.,” below.Revenue was $46.7 million for the fourth quarter compared to $29.2 million for the same quarter last year. Year-on-year revenue comparisons are influenced by the fact that the company discontinued sales-type lease transactions at the beginning of 2001. Sales-type leases recognize revenue up-front rather than amortizing it over the life of the contract. Fourth quarter 2000 revenue included $15.1 million from sales-type leases. Excluding revenue from transactions accounted for as sales-type leases, fourth quarter 2001 revenue was $46.7 million compared to $14.1 million for the same period last year.Asia Global Crossing’s recurring services revenue was $41.6 million in the quarter, showing 43 percent growth over the previous quarter. Included in this amount is $8.1 million related to a reciprocal transaction. Without this reciprocal transaction, recurring services revenues would have been up 15 percent quarter-on-quarter.Revenue was $121.5 million for the year, compared to $166.7 million for year 2000. Year 2000 revenue included $138.3 million from transactions accounted for as sales-type leases. Excluding such revenue, 2001 revenue was $121.5 million compared to $28.4 million for year 2000. This year-on-year growth is primarily attributable to the fact that the company’s network infrastructure and product offerings were at a significantly more developed stage in 2001 than in 2000.Asia Global Crossing expects to record one-time impairment charges of at least $232.6 million, consisting of $146.0 million of capitalized intangibles related to the formation of the company and $86.6 million of goodwill related to the company’s acquisition of IXnet Asia and other minor intangibles. The company anticipates that an additional material impairment charge related Pacific Crossing Ltd. will also be recorded (see “Pacific Crossing Ltd.”, below).Pacific Crossing Ltd. (PCL) is a 64.5 percent-owned joint venture company and as such its results are included in Asia Global Crossing’s consolidated financial statements. The Pacific Crossing 1 trans-Pacific system is owned by PCL, and was financed in part by debt incurred by PCL. This debt is non-recourse to the company, but is secured by the company’s equity holdings in PCL. There is a significant likelihood that the operating cash flow generated by PCL will not be sufficient to service this debt. PCL has begun discussions with its lenders regarding changes in the terms of its obligations. If PCL fails to reach an agreement with its lenders, the lenders will have the right to foreclose on the company’s equity investment in PCL and thereby acquire effective ownership and control the Pacific Crossing system. At the end of 2001, the book value of the company’s equity in PCL was approximately $171 million.The company is currently reviewing the fair value of long-lived assets related to PCL and expects that an additional asset impairment charge will be taken in the final results for the fourth quarter of 2001. At the end of 2001, the carrying value of these assets was approximately $1.2 billion, all or part of which may be subject to such a charge. Under U.S. GAAP, the magnitude of this charge may exceed the company’s net equity in the joint venture.During 2001, Asia Global Crossing entered into a number of transactions in which it provided capacity, services or facilities to other telecommunications carriers and, at approximately the same time, purchased or leased capacity, services or facilities from these same telecommunications carriers. The company refers to such transactions as “reciprocal transactions.” The capacity, services and facilities acquired in these transactions enable Asia Global Crossing to serve certain markets in advance of its own network availability and redundancy on certain routes. The business justifications of these acquisitions and the carrying value of the assets acquired are being reviewed as part of the investigations described under “Investigations,” below.Asia Global Crossing defers the revenue from all such sales. The deferred revenue is amortized into revenue on a straight-line basis as earned over the terms of the sales agreements. Capacity, services and facilities the company acquired are recorded as “Property and equipment,” “Other long-term assets” or “Other current assets,” based upon the type of the assets and the terms of purchase agreements. “Other current assets” and “Other long-term assets” primarily relate to prepayments for capacity leases, telecommunications services and charges for operations, administration and maintenance. These “Other assets” are expensed over the terms of the purchase agreements to “Cost of access and maintenance” in the company’s statement of operations. “Property and equipment” is depreciated over the term of the purchase agreements.The company completed two principal reciprocal transactions in the fourth quarter. The first, for $23.3 million, was the second step of a two-step transaction under which Asia Global Crossing acquired terrestrial capacity in China and related co-location space and other services and sold capacity from Hong Kong to the west coast of the U.S. for the same amount. The total amount received and spent related to this transaction during 2001 was $68.3 million.The second transaction was a $20 million sale of capacity on the company’s intra-Asia cable system to a carrier from which Asia Global Crossing purchased, for the same amount, capacity on the Japan/Australia cable to provide access to a portion of Asia Global Crossing territory that is not served by the company’s own network.The other principal reciprocal transactions during 2001 totaled $57.5 million. In these transactions Asia Global Crossing acquired capacity for $55.0 million to provide redundancy between Hong Kong and Japan in advance of the ring completion of its own system and to provide connectivity between Hong Kong and Singapore in advance of its own system readiness.A significant number of the company’s sale transactions during 2001 were completed with telecommunications carriers from whom Global Crossing purchased capacity, services or facilities at approximately the same time asthese carriers purchased capacity or services from the company. Asia Global Crossing received cash in these transactions, and did not make any related purchases. The total cash additions to deferred revenue from such transactions during 2001 was $354.8 million, none of which was received during the fourth quarter. Revenue recognized from the amortization of suchamounts was $5.8 million for the full year, of which $2.7 million was recognized in the fourth quarter.On December 20, 2001, Global Crossing announced that it would not honor the $400 million draw request made by the company on the $400 million subordinated credit facilities established in the company’s favor by Global Crossing in October 2000. On January 28, 2002, Global Crossing commenced voluntary bankruptcy proceedings in the U.S. and provisional liquidation proceedings in Bermuda. This liquidity impact is exacerbated by weak demand for IRU sales. As a result, the company no longer has a fully funded business plan. The company is taking a number of actions to address its funding needs, including minimizing discretionary expenditures and seeking to renegotiate the payment terms associated with its principal construction and supply contracts. Successful negotiation of these changes should allow sufficient liquidity for the majority of the current year.Asia Global Crossing is also seeking new capital. Asia Global Crossing has engaged Lazard Freres as its financial advisor in connection with its consideration of alternatives for restructuring and obtaining new funds. It is likely that in their report on the company’s audited financial statements, the company’s auditors will express substantial doubt about the company’s ability to continue as a going concern.”We are working with our vendors to give us time to address the need for new capital. These discussions look promising. As to new capital, we have already received a number of inquiries from potential investors,” added Scanlon.While initial results on vendor talks are encouraging, no assurance can be given that final agreements acceptable to the company will be achievable with such vendors. Similarly, that while inquiries have been received from various parties about possible investment, no assurance can be given that such inquiries will result in a proposal or that any such proposal if made will be acceptable to the company.Asia Global Crossing finished the year with $553.0 million in cash, of which $72.9 million was restricted to use on the Pacific Crossing system.Widespread publicity has been given to allegations by a former employee of Global Crossing that the accounting for and disclosure of reciprocal transactions entered into by Global Crossing or Asia Global Crossing have been improper. The audit committee of the Asia Global Crossing board of directors has engaged external counsel for the purpose of investigating issues raised by these allegations so far as they concern Asia Global Crossing. Asia Global Crossing understands that investigations of these matters have also been undertaken by the Securities and Exchange Commission and by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and that Global Crossing has been contacted in this matter. At this time, Asia Global Crossing has not been contacted in connection with either of such investigations.

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