IN THE PAPERS
In The Papers 4 March
04-03-2009
by Sylvia Leatham
Online gamblers denied mortgages | UK gets set for super-fast broadband
The Irish Times reports that some banks are rejecting mortgage applications from online gamblers. Michael Dowling, spokesman for the Independent Mortgages Advisers Federation (IMAF), said that banks now regarded online betting very negatively. He said that while any such activity appearing on a current account submitted to a bank as part of a mortgage application would not automatically disqualify someone from being granted a loan, it was one of the criteria being applied "in a market where they are looking for any excuses" to reject applications. "The banks will never admit it," said Dowling, but it is "being discussed".
The paper also reports that Denis O'Brien looks set to earn USD260 million from the sale of a 40 percent stake in the Central American arm of Digicel to a sister company in the Caribbean. A note from ratings agency Fitch issued on Tuesday said O'Brien owns Digicel's Central American business and that 40 percent of the equity will be bought by Digicel Ltd, which runs the Caribbean operation and is also wholly owned by the Irish businessman. The payment forms part of a proposed USD435 million bond issue by Digicel Ltd.
The paper also says that Irish businesses spent an estimated EUR1.68 billion on research and development last year. Read more on this story on ENN.
The Irish Independent says that the Irish arm of AOL -- which operates social network Bebo -- grew its pre-tax profits by 50 percent to USD2.24 million for year ended 2007. According to accounts filed by US-owned AOL Global Operations Ltd, the firm increased turnover by 37 percent in 2007, from USD32 million up to USD44 million. The Dublin-based company employed 225 people at the end of 2007, and last March the Time Warner Inc-owned AOL purchased Bebo for USD850 million.
According to the Financial Times, the UK has taken a decisive step toward super-fast broadband after regulators gave the go-ahead to a STG1.5 billion plan by BT. The telecoms firm will start supplying super-fast broadband next year, and aims to make high-speed internet access available to 40 percent of homes in the UK by the end of 2012. Virgin Media, the cable TV operator, is already selling high-speed broadband and will make it available to 50 percent of homes by autumn. Telco regulator Ofcom is offering the prospect of a relatively benign regulatory regime for BT and its super-fast broadband plan.
The paper also says that France Telecom has claimed it is well equipped to win market share this year and announced a 7.7 percent rise in dividends on the back of in-line 2008 earnings. EBITDA rose 1.5 percent to EUR19.4 billion on revenue of EUR53.5 billion for the year 2008, up 1 percent. The telecoms operator's organic cash flow rose to EUR8 billion from EUR7 billion in 2007, in line with its target of more than EUR7.8 billion. This brought its ratio of net debt to earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) to 1.85 at the end of 2008, in line with a target of keeping the ratio at less than 2. Net income fell 35 percent, however, because of goodwill writedowns and higher taxes.
The Wall Street Journal reports that AMD's chip-making operations are now an independent company, with a new name and strategy. The new venture, called Globalfoundries, will continue to make chips for AMD while seeking other customers to use its manufacturing services. The name underscores the company's plan to stand out from other build-to-order chipmakers, which are mostly concentrated in Taiwan and other Asian countries. Globalfoundries, which is backed by investors from Abu Dhabi, is based in Silicon Valley, while its existing factories are in Dresden, Germany. Its next big move is to start building a USD4.2 billion manufacturing complex in New York state.
The paper also notes that worldwide handset sales fell in the fourth quarter, and demand is not likely to stabilise before next year, according to research firm Gartner. The company said about 315 million mobile phones were sold in the fourth quarter, down 5 percent from a year earlier. Emerging and developed markets recorded growth of 2 percent from the previous quarter -- the lowest such growth ever recorded for a fourth quarter, said Gartner's mobile device research director, Carolina Milanesi. "At the moment we are seeing growth in 2010," she said. "It will be very moderate, but growth."
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