World Briefing

Philip Services appoints two outside directors: Philip Services Corp. announced that further to the terms of its standstill agreement with High River Limited Partnership, American Real Estate Holdings, LP and Foothill Partners III, LP, Harold First and Arnold Tenney have been appointed to the company's board of directors. With their appointments, which are effective immediately, the company's board has increased from nine to eleven directors. First is a financial consultant based in New York, NY. First presently has served as a director for a number of companies, and currently serves as a member of the Audit Committee for Cadus Pharmaceutical, Panaco and Telesave Holdings. Tenney, a resident of Canada, is currently president and CEO, and a director and major stockholder of ARC International Corporation of Ontario, Canada. ARC is primarily engaged in the development, construction and operation of ice rink facilities in the United States and Canada. Tenney also serves as chairman and a director ofBallantyne of Omaha, and chairman and a director of Cabletel Communications of Ontario, Canada.

Intuit reports loss in line with expectations: Intuit Inc., the publisher of financial software and tax-preparations programmes, has posted a loss for the latest quarter that was in line with expectations and reflected the normal seasonal pattern of its business. Intuit -- whose business is usually strongest during the winter and spring, when US tax filings are due -- reported a net loss of $49.2 million, or 83 cents a share, including charges of $22.8 million, for its fiscal first quarter ended on October 31. For the year-ago quarter, Mountain View, California-based Intuit posted a net loss of $12.8 million, or 27 cents a share. Revenues rose to $112 million from $96 million. On a proforma basis excluding charges, Intuit posted a loss of $26.8 million, or 45 cents a share. That compared with a year-ago loss of $12.1 million, or 26 cents, was just ahead of Wall Street expectations of a loss of 46 cents pershare. Intuit, the publisher of the popular Quicken personal financial software, also has an Internet site where it sells insurance and mortgages. The company typically posts profits and higher revenues during the quarters ending in January and April, while posting losses in the July and October quarters.

MCI WorldCom opens European network centre: MCI WorldCom opened a European network centre in the Dutch capital Amsterdam with the intention of dramatically expanding its network in the next year. MCI WorldCom's European network is to expand from its current 3,200 km to 10,500 km by the end of 1999. Principal growth will come in Germany, France and the UK. The company aims to add Switzerland and Italy to its network next year and expects to push into Spain, Sweden and Denmark. "We should have full national coverage of some 60 per cent of the European Union," MCI WorldCom International chief executive Liam Strong told a news conference. The centre, named after European Union Telecoms CommissionerMartin Bangemann, will manage MCI WorldCom's pan-European optical fibre network, its data operations, the European arm of its UUNet Internet backbone and its customer call service. It currently has 180 employees which will rise to 390 by the end of 1999. MCI WorldCom, is the second largest long-distance telephone operator in the US and was formed from last year's merger of MCI and WorldCom.

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