Outlook: Bloody nose for Bell Atlantic

BELL ATLANTIC'S stake in Cable & Wireless Communications was worth pounds 1.87bn yesterday morning. By the end of the day it had lost pounds 200m in value.

The reason? A rather cheeky offer from Bell to mortgage its CWC stake by issuing $3bn worth of bonds backed by the shareholding. If the shares rise in value, Bell repays investors in cash. If they fall, it pays out in shares. The markets decided to give Bell a bloody nose. Who says telecom stocks are a one-way bet?