WorldCom dives ahead of SEC report

SHARES in WorldCom, the US telco that last week triggered a global share sell-off by revealing a giant hole in its accounts, fell more than 90% in pre-open trading.

The market is also bracing for the first findings of the Securities and Exchange Commission probe into the scandal. 'We've just received it and we're going to make it public before the markets open this morning,' said SEC head Harvey Pitt.

Pitt predicted the report would provide information on who knew the details of WorldCom's near-£4bn (£2.7bn) accounting error. Its finance chief was fired last week. The report, made under oath to the federal regulators, is also expected to give a clearer picture of WorldCom's true financial standing.

The Nasdaq-listed stock was suspended last week at 83 cents as the scandal unfolded. It was trading at 7 cents ahead of the market's open, valuing WorldCom at around $207m. It was valued at nearly $48bn in early December.