"Investors have shied away from the big telcos in recent years because of concerns that their traditional businesses were shrinking," notes George Putnam III, an expert in uncovering turnarounds.

But now, he explains, "After years of concern about the cable companies invading their turf, the big telecoms are now well positioned to fight back."

In his The Turnaround Letter, the advisor looks at seven leaders in the global telecom space, all of which he says represent global leaders, with dominant positions in their local markets and the "potential to grow steadily by expanding the services they offer."

AT&T (NYSE: T) Putnam notes, gained control of Cingular Wireless due to its merger with Bellsouth. The renamed AT&T Wireless, he says, will account for about 35% of AT&T's revenues.

The advisor observes, "In addition to a strong wireless presence, AT&T is rolling out fiber-based landline services. With revenues expected to be north of $120 billion in 2007 and substantial operating cash flow, AT&T is a force to be reckoned with." Further, he notes, the dividend was just raised for the 22nd consecutive year, and the company is expected to repurchase roughly $7 billion worth of stock in 2007.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• The 19.4B sale of Clear Channel Communications Inc (NYSE: CCU) to Bain Capital and Thomas H. Lee Partners is expected to proceed quickly as major shareholders Highfields Capital Management and Fidelity Investments are expected to agree to a new proposal raising the sale bid by 20 cents to $39.20 a share, reported the Wall Street Journal.
• Last month stent implants in the U.S. fell 15% to 71,200 from April 2006, signaling that they may no longer be a strong growth area for the medical industry, reported the Wall Street Journal.
• A new EU law that would slash the roaming charges for mobile phone calls by Europeans when they are traveling on the continent is expected to cut into the profits of companies including Vodafone Group (NYSE: VOD), France Telecom ADS (NYSE: FTE), and Telefonica SA ADS (NYSE: TEF) , reported the Financial Times.

OTHER PAPERS:

• EMI Group (OTC: EMIPY) has opened its books to rival Warner Music Group (WMG), setting up a four-way bidding war, reported The Business.
• New explorations by PetroChina Company Limited's (NYSE: PTR) parent company, China National Petroleum Corp, have found that the Jidong Nanpu Oilfield in Bohai Bay may have more reserves than previously estimated, reported China Daily.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• The Wall Street Journal reported that New Century Financial Corporation (OTC: NEWC) is expected to announce as soon as today that it is filing for bankruptcy projection.
• The Wall Street Journal reported that EMI Group plc (OTC: EMIPY) will hold a special media event on Monday with Apple Inc's (NASDAQ: AAPL) CEO Steve Jobs as its special guest, fueling speculation that EMI will sell music without anti-piracy software.
• The Financial Times reported that the U.S. and South Korea said they had agreed on the terms of a landmark free trade deal which will boost trade by as much as $20B a year.
• The Financial Times reported that French stock market regulators are looking into unusual share price movements in France Telecom ADS (NYSE: FTE) and a few other CAC40 stocks, as there is concern that unknown forces could be profiting from false rumors and speculation in the stocks.

OTHER PAPERS:

• The U.K. Times has learned that GlaxoSmithKline plc ADR (NYSE: GSK) is in talks with the World Health Organization, or WHO, over a proposal for a subsidized mass avian flu vaccine for developing countries.

WEBSITES:

• According to an internal memo obtained by SUSE-IRC.org, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) is in talks to acquire Novell Inc (NASDAQ: NOVL).

Major European stock markets are up today between .5% to 1%, following the lead Asia set this early morning. Trading was reported to be brisk on all major markets. Good news came from Swiss drugmaker Novartis (NYSE:NVS) as it received an approval for a blood pressure medication----which will be in demand if these market fluctuations continue.

International Power (NYSE:IPR) of the United Kingdom led the way on the FTSE index as it reported an excellent profits report and lifted its current dividend by 75%. This stock trades on the NYSE as an ADR as well as in the United Kingdom. Rising power prices were attributed to the profit surge.

On the slightly negative side, France Telecom ( FTE) was off less than 1% as they reported a slump in profits and indicated that 2007 would not bring any dividend increase. The CAC 40 however, was still positive on the day as investors were not surprised by the France Telecom report.

Traders in London are anxiously awaiting the open of the US markets today as many feel the stability of US Treasuries today, globally, will stabilize if not begin to lift the bell-weather US stock markets.

Georges Yared is the author of "Stop Losing Money Today" and "Baby Boomer Investing...Where do we go from here?"

The Guardian is reporting that AOL has put its French and German businesses up for sale, as hinted during the earnings conference call Wednesday morning [Sarah Gilbert's note: scroll all the way to the bottom and note: Wayne and Dick chuckled at the question from Citigroup analyst Jason Bazinet! Chuckled! They are so called out!].

The company will keep its British business, and continue to operate Internet portals in Germany and France.  According to the paper, AOL's operations in both countries have struggled against France Telecom and Deutsche Telekom. Citigroup is said to have been retained to sell the businesses, which analysts estimate to be worth a total of €700m (£480m).