IN THE PAPERS
In The Papers 16 July
16-07-2009
by Sylvia Leatham
iTunes update locks out Palm Pre | Sony Ericsson results better than expected
The Irish Times reports that there may be some relaxing of the conditions being imposed by the EU on the electronic tagging of sheep. Such tagging has been opposed by farming groups in Ireland and the UK. The Standing Committee for Food Chain and Animal Health has agreed a number of concessions which may be implemented by EU member states when tagging becomes mandatory for all new-born lambs from 1 January 2010. The most significant is to allow the electronic reading of ear tags to take place at critical control points such as markets and slaughter houses, instead of at each individual farm.
The paper also says that Science Foundation Ireland is spending EUR26 million on supporting research into new energy sources and technology, as reported by ENN on Wednesday.
The Irish Examiner says that Communications Minister Eamon Ryan battled with Justice Minister Dermot Ahern to secure "significant changes" to the crime legislation on data retention before it was published this week. Original plans by the Department of Justice empowered the Garda and other bodies to request customer information from phone and internet firms when investigating both serious and less serious crimes, including offences carrying sentences of 12 months or more. When the Communications (Retention of Data) Bill 2009 was published on Monday, this provision was changed so that details can now only be sought for serious crimes carrying sentences of five years or more. Sources say the change was due to Ryan's strong objections to the original proposal.
The same paper says the Irish Medicines Board has warned that people are putting their health at serious risk by buying drugs online. New figures released by the IMB show that last year a massive 2,742 unexpected health complications from medicines were reported, almost a third more than in 2007 and the highest number ever reported by the regulatory watchdog. The IMB said that while the situation was worrying, the ongoing purchase of drugs online -- particularly erectile dysfunction and weight loss medications -- was adding an extra dimension to concerns. Some 3,037 breaches of medical product legislation were also reported, meaning that thousands of people buying drugs were not made aware of the potential health hazards.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Apple has released an update to its iTunes software that blocks rival Palm's Pre smartphone from accessing the online store. Apple's online music and video store now "disables devices falsely pretending to be iPods," which includes Palm's Pre, an Apple spokesman said. The Pre has been able to access iTunes since going on sale in the US in early June, but it was always unclear whether the Pre was doing so with Apple's permission. The development is a setback for Palm.
The paper also reports that mobile handset maker Sony Ericsson has recorded a narrower-than-expected net loss for the second quarter, but sales remained well down compared with last year. Sony Ericsson posted a EUR213 million net loss for the three months to 30 June, down from a EUR6 million profit the previous year, but better than analysts' expectations of a EUR298 million loss. It estimated that its market share was 5 percent in the second quarter, down from an estimated market share of 6 percent in the first quarter. The company maintained its view that the global handset market for 2009 will contract at least 10 percent from 2008.
According to the Financial Times, PC sales were stronger in the second quarter than industry analysts had predicted, suggesting the industry could be bottoming out as consumers begin to spend more. Global PC sales fell only 3.1 percent by volume from a year earlier, about half the decline expected by market researcher IDC and less than half of the first-quarter's 6.8 percent drop. "Things are certainly more resilient than we thought," said IDC analyst Jay Chou. IDC had been projecting year-over-year gains in the last quarter of 2009 and the new report raises the possibility that the increases will begin in the third quarter instead.
The paper also says that New York private equity firm MatlinPatterson Global Advisors is approaching potential strategic partners as it prepares a rescue plan for struggling telecoms equipment maker Nortel Networks, according to sources. MatlinPatterson revealed last week that it was considering a comprehensive restructuring and recapitalisation plan for Nortel. Nokia Siemens has offered USD650 million for most of Nortel's core and profitable wireless equipment operations, but MatlinPatterson believes stakeholders could realise more value by avoiding the piecemeal sale of Nortel's assets.
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