WRAP: AVISTA SEES Q2 LOSSES FROM DEAD TRADER'S SHORT POSITIONS
By Robert Gibbons, BridgeNews Spokane, Wash.--June 21--Shares of energy company Avista Corp. fell Wednesday after the power company warned it expects to post losses for its fiscal second quarter. Avista Chief Executive Tom Matthews said "We just blew it," in terms of managing its regulated utility business. One Full Story

WRAP: CHINA UNICOM OPENS WITH A PREMIUM ON MARKET DEBUT
By Paul Cordasco, BridgeNews New York--June 21--China Unicom Ltd. opened with modest premium Wednesday as the promise of over a billion Chinese telecommunication consumers provided investors with an incentive to purchase shares in the huge American depositary shares offering. The stock opened at Full Story

EU LIKELY TO BLOCK WORLDCOM, SPRINT MERGER
BRUSSELS, Belgium, June 21 (UPI) -- European Union antitrust authorities are likely to block the merger of WorldCom Inc. and Sprint Corp., believing the $129 billion deal would place too much of the Internet within the network of a single company, the Washington Post reports Wednesday. Full Story

SHARES PLUNGE AS SCANDAL ENVELOPS TELEFONICA BOSS
Share prices for Spain's high-flying telecom operator Telefonica crumbled on Wednesday after securities authorities opened an investigation to determine if chairman Juan Villalonga used insider information to acquire stock options, Full Story

COCA-COLA AIMS TO BE FIRST IN NORTH KOREA, PEPSICO NOT FAR BEHIND
Coca-Cola hopes to be the first U.S. company to enter North Korea following moves by the country to open itself to the world and an easing of U.S. restrictions on trade with the hermetic Communist regime. Full Story