Meltdown

The telecom debt crisis is rapidly becoming a meltdown, with panicked investors dumping shares of WorldCom and Sprint and Qwest and even Regional Bell Operating Companies. WorldCom's woes have been exaxerbated by an SEC inquiry into its accounting practices and it seems possible that the company may have to seek protection from creditors. Sprint has found to its dismay that the commercial paper market has dried up. And on and on it goes.

Keep in mind that unlike in Europe, all this is happening before the auction for wireless spectrum. The Wall Street Journal has an excellent page one survey (subscription required) of the carnage to date and the carnage to come.