Telcom giant’s shares plunge

Single Sign-On: You can use Facebook account to log in to LasVegasSun.com. (We will use your first and last name from your profile.)
Trusted Commenting: Facebook connected users automatically become trusted commenters.

Tuesday, March 12, 2002 | 9:34 a.m.

CLINTON, Miss. -- WorldCom Inc. shares fell as much as 19 percent this morning after the second-biggest U.S. long-distance phone company said regulators requested information on issues such as loans to executives and accounting.

The shares fell $1.06 to $7.95 in late morning trading after declining to $7.29. They had already fallen 36 percent this year. MCI Group stock, which tracks WorldCom's consumer long-distance unit, fell 61 cents, or 6.7 percent, to $8.55. WorldCom's bond prices declined.

The Securities and Exchange Commission asked WorldCom for correspondence with auditor Arthur Andersen LLP, also Enron's accountant. Regulators probably will examine WorldCom's $198.7 million in loans as of last month to Chief Executive Officer Bernard Ebbers, shareholders said.