8/9/2019 Akumiitti Nylon Beat WSJ 2000-05-29

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EUROPE ' S INTERNATIONAL BUSINESVOl. XVIII N.B2 MONDAY, MAY 29, 2doo

[ = ~ - = = = - ~ __ ~ ~ ~ : - : Y S ~ ~ f 2 ~ T _ ~ ~ ~ ~ j f C ~ ~ _ ~ ~ =J LUCKY STRIKE MS STRATEGYCan YOli Hold? Japan's Bit Valleyohnson & Johnsonfinds an elusive gene. goes from partiesto incubators.rtlcle on page 29My Video GameArtlcle o n _ ~ " e Is Ringing Back

HEARD IN EUROIA drop in brokera!stocks shows* UBS's weakness.Artlcle on pageMobile Phones BecomeEntertainment DevicesGaming en ~ School BusBy ALMAR LATOURSTAFF REPQRTER

HELSrNKI - Move over, Madonna.Finnish pop star Erin Koivisto bounds across the outdoor stage in gray overalls and claps her hands over herears_ Her all-women band, Nylon Beat, is nanked bytwo towers of powerfuJ amps, but she's struggling tomake herself heard above a chorus of ringing mobilephones below."Can somebody pleeease answer the phone?" shepJeads into the microphone, tossing back her brownhair. "I can't hear my own thoughts."The crowd roars - and punches more bultons. Butas the cellular cacophony swells, Ms. Koivisto onlysmiles. The noise is money to her ears: The phones areringing the tune of Nylon Beat's latest hit, "Not Guilty."- Nylon Beat is the world 's first band to release a hitsingle on the mobilephone. Bypassing theusual distribution channels - CDs, videos andthe Net - Nylon Beatturned its latest song,"Not Guilty," into acelI-phone ringo Withindays of its release,thousands of Finnishieens had downloadedthe song for &1 a pop.When the song wasoffered. to radio stations

Jonna Kosonen andEn'n Koirista af Nylon Beatthree weeks later, it filled the Finnish airwaves. Whenit comes out on CD this week, it's expected to catapuJt"Not Guilty" to the top of the local charts."Madonna has yet to catch up with us," says NylonBeat's other singer. Jonna Kosonen.That's M-tertainment. Mobile phones are fastbecoming much more than a communications tool forpeople on the move. With ever-larger screens and agrowing capacity to transmit data, cell phones areincreasingly becoming electronic wallets, calendars,and - for an exploding number of teens and people intheir 20s - playthings. Think hand-held video games,cartoons, wireless sex programs, even mobile-phonesoccer. This is not vour father's Nokia.If all of this sounds iuturistic. guess agaln. A market[or such services already exists. Last year, the averageFinnish teen spent 950 on mobilephone services. InJapan, mobile opera tor NTT DoCoMo has identifiedentertainment services - most of them aimed at theunder-25 set - as a cornerstone of its business,Global forecasts for mobile-entertainment revenues

What's News-

don 't yet exist. But Swedish phone maker Telefon ABL.M. Ericsson projects that there will be 600 million * * *I Twelve European utilitiesmobite Internet users world-wide by 2006 - and that J expect to set up one of Europe'sentertainment wilI be among the biggest revenue-gen Iexchangeslargest onlineprocurementdoing business worth atrators for wireJess providers. Revenues from all wire.Iess data services in Europe are expected to balIoon to : least 22 billion a year. (Page 4.)PLEA$E TURN TO PAGE 12. COLUMN 1 1 * * *, - - - - , I Two Hyundal affillates got~ ~ ~ < , ~ j ~ ~ ; i : W : : . : ~ J . J i : : ; ~ ' L ..: I Ishort-term Joans from their mainI creditor, stoking concerns aboutI the financial health of Korea'sI largest conglomerate and roilingHow U. S. Cattlemen 1 he stock market. (page 8.)urn a Dead Cow

* * :"..!, Business and FinanceFRANCE TELECOM \VAS closeto an agreement to buy Orangefrom Vodafone for about HO billionin cash and stock. France Telecomalso wouJd assume debt and thecost o[ the third-generation mobilephone license Orange has agreedto buy from the U.K. government.(Page 1.) * * .*U.S, consumer spending creptup in April at its slowest rate sinceJuJy, a signal that economicgrowth may finally be slowing.(Page 1.) * * *An AOL-Tlme Warner-EM! dealmay face a tough time in the faceof European antilrust authorities'narrow definitions of the relevantmarkets. (Page 1.)* * ."1Alr France Is benefiting fromgrowth potential at Charles deGaulle Airport, which puts itahead of other spacestarvedEuropean carriers. (Page 4.)~ -)to *Airbus's board Is expected toauthorize the start of sales campaign for the A3XX jet at a meet

II ing in BerIin early next month.(Page 4.1 * .* -),I Commerzbank's dispute withits largest shareholder explodedinto public view as CEOKohlhausscn accused Cobra ofraising fears about a b r e ~ l < u p of11]1' ".ank. (Paoe 15.)I ~ * +

'' Spaln bloclled Fenosa's bid to. take over rival utility Cantabricoi for 2.7 billion. citing comperitionconcems. The govemment's move] opens the door to an offer from, TXU Europe. (Page 8.)

0* ;+ ~ World-Wide

POLAND'S GOVERNMENTplunges into cIisis.Angry at Prime Minister JerzyBuzek's inability to control maverick lawmakers from his ownSoJidarity bloc. the junior partnerin the center-right coalition votedto withdraw ils ministers, Iikelyspelling the end for his government that is two and a half yearsold. The Freedom Union's executive council voted nearJy unanimously for its five ministers tosubmit their resignations today.I (Page 2.)I{ The cOUllcil also held opellthe option affonning a newcoalition with the Solidarit.Vbloc under a new pllme milt')l.l

ister. Fillallce MinislerLeszek {:Ialcerowicz, whoheads the small, market-oriented F'reedom Union, saidafter the vale that he lUOllldbegin talks u.'ith Solidarityleaders.* ~ A . . ; ~ The eve of peace taU[s foundEritrea and Ethiopia locked in battie, wilh J1rilrea accusing ilsneighbor ?f bombing a powerplanl. E l ~ i o p i a denied the accusation. Meanwhile, the U.N. coordinator for Eritrea .wBmed thatfighting near the central city ofl'vlcndefera Jhreatens to uprootanother 200,000 people.

-/. * *Northern Ireland's majorProtestaot part.y narrowly votcd I.Jrevive a power-sharing g-overnmenI wlth Catholics. the key goalof the province's J998 peace agreement. The grass-roots council ofthe Ulster Unionist Party voted459403 to resume a four-partyCabinet alongside Sinn Fein, theIrish Republican Army-linkedparty. (Page 2.)-}..'- - *Peruvian President AlbertoFujimori risIled international isolation and violent protests in hisquest for a third term in a runoffelection boycotted by his rival andcharacterized as tainted by foreign monitors. Voters lined up bythe hundreds to cast ballots inLima and around the country, disregarding Challenger Alejandro

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]France TeINears Ora:J! Agreement Valued at1I french Company Would Assume DE

By ANITA RAGHAVAN1 And G A U T A ~ l NAIKI T o.FF REPORTtRSLONDON - France Telecom SA iclose to an agreement to acquire OrangPLC from Vodafone AirTouch PLC foI about i25 billion (40 billion) in cash anst0ck - a deal that is expected to be arj nOllnced as early as Tuesday, people f