WorldCom could not have hit the world’s credit investors harder. Bond markets bounced back just two weeks after Enron’s demise but Enron only had $5 billion to $6 billion in debt outstanding. WorldCom’s bonds alone have a face value of $29 billion. Investors were already suffering from a US telecoms meltdown, which forced WorldCom bonds down to junk levels. But then WorldCom euro-denominated bonds fell to just 11% of face value on June 26, the day after the fateful earnings restatement, with $16 billion to $17 billion wiped off their value in a single day.
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