Posted on 07/26/2002 2:14:11 PM PDT by Swanks
From $80 to 80 cents a share - NORTEL is rated a "SELL" at $0.80...
-- A class-action lawsuit filed Wednesday accused Nortel Networks of overstating its revenues in late 2000 and early 2001, when the fiber-optic and telecom equipment giant first said it would fail to meet growth targets.
The lawsuit filed on behalf of three Ontario residents by the Toronto law firms Lerner & Associates and Rochon Genova names Nortel and its auditor, Deloitte & Touche, in alleging the kind of fraud that has shaken investor confidence in the United States after scandals involving Enron Corp., WorldCom Inc. and others.
It claims Nortel engaged in numerous improper accounting practices that overstated its revenues, and that Deloitte & Touche failed to have Nortel correct its accounting procedures or warn investors.
Nortel spokeswoman Tina Warren said the lawsuit was "without merit" and that the company would "vigorously defend" itself.
Dozens of class-action suits have been filed against Nortel, mostly in the United States, since the company announced Feb. 15, 2001, that it would fail to meet previous growth targets. Nortel's announcement set off an 18-month meltdown in which its shares lost billions of dollars in value, the company posted billions of dollars in losses, and the work force that once numbered 96,000 was reduced by almost half.
News of the lawsuit against Nortel came shortly after announcement of a new national panel to enforce tougher requirements for auditors of publicly traded companies.
The Canadian Public Accountability Board, which will include people from outside the accounting industry, will ensure audits get reviewed and lead auditors get rotated, according to organizers.
"The new system is based on independent, public oversight, tougher practice inspection and more rigorous quality control mechanisms," said David Brown, chairman of the Ontario Securities Commission.
Canada lacks a federal regulatory body like the Securities and Exchange Commission in the United States. Intended to bolster investor confidence, the new nongovernment panel brings provincial regulators together with federal financial regulators and the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants, which determines the nation's accounting rules.
Given THAT the only remaining staff(s) are managers whose lips were sown to the manager's a**es, there remains but middle management losers who cannot nor will produce anything.
The only saving grace if NT can find a market for the Powerpoint charts the remaining staffS ARE only capable of producing. BWAHAHAHHA!
What a crock of crap. $80 huh. Try $80 X 2 splits = $320. That's a spicy meat-a-ball.
Yeah, you're right. I shouldn't be so tough. I mean, the management team DID manage to retain 1% of the stock value and only rode it down 99%. But after two years, let's give 'em two more; maybe they'll get the stock price back above $80.00
I've seen them fire whole teams of consultants earing $150-$200 / hr ON customer sites; with work for the indefinate future. And not even notifing the customer. These people just didn't show up on a Friday. So the customers are pissed and will never buy Nortel again.But they kept the 'support staff' (expense) for these fired people (revenue) - because the supp't staff's mgmt. was 'connected'. They sit around and play solitare now since the revenue generators they supported are gone.
NT SHOULD be sued. But for allowing morons to impersonate leadership.
As an added bonus, the collect more plaintiffs after the stock bombs because of the suit spawning another round of suits, and so on, and so on...
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