ROUNDUPS
In the papers 24 April
24-04-2002
by Paula Mythen
Spectel flotation is expected to raise EUR46.2 million | HP's Carly Fiorina takes the stand in Delaware
The Irish Times reports that Dublin-based Spectel, a company which develops software to allow companies to hold conferences over computer networks, said it would raise EUR46.2 million from a public flotation on the Irish and London stock exchanges. The offering will net EUR20 million for the company's chief executive, Gerard Moore. Enterprise Ireland and Quinn Direct Insurance are among the institutional shareholders which will benefit from the flotation, which will value Spectel at EUR222 million.
The Irish Independent reports that BSkyB is to offer banking and home shopping to its 230,000 Irish subscribers who have satellite dishes. The customers will also be able to use a range of interactive services such as e-mail, sms messaging and games over the digital system.
The paper also reports that Tuesday was a bad day for Irish investors who put money behind the telecoms industry, as Deutsche Telekom lost value after reporting losses and Vodafone reached a new four month low. DT's share price fell 16 percent to EUR16.54, while Vodafone closed at EUR1.07, down 4.5 percent.
The same paper also reports that antitrust penalties proposed by nine US states will keep Microsoft from releasing timely security updates to its Windows operating system or open the company up to trademark violations, Microsoft's Bill Gates said in court on Tuesday.
Finally the Irish Independent reports that Parthus Technologies announced that it will supply developers of microchips and electronic devices with instantly available design and delivery of intellectual property for clock synthesisers. The company said this would reduce costs and times for developers.
The Financial Times reports that HP chief Carly Fiorina took the stand in the Delaware Chancery Court and defended her company's actions during the bitter five-month fight to gain shareholder approval for the Compaq merger. Fiorina was the first witness called by the Walter Hewlett camp which said it had internal HP documents showing the company's integration efforts were not achieving the targets HP had provided in public documents.
The paper also reports that STMicroelectronics, the largest European chipmaker, forecasted a 10 percent rise in revenues this quarter, following a 29 percent drop in first-quarter revenues. Total revenues in the first quarter were USD1.36 billion, a six percent sequential decline, compared with USD1.92 billion in the year-ago period as the company suffered from a steep drop in global chip demand. Gross profit was USD452 million, compared with USD855.8 million a year ago.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Amazon.com Inc. narrowed its first-quarter net loss from a year earlier as sales rose 21 percent, and the company increased its financial forecasts for the rest of the year. The Internet retailer said it had a loss of USD23.2 million, or USD.06 a share, compared with a loss of USD234.1 million, or USD0.66, a year earlier. Revenue increased to USD847 million from USD700 million a year earlier, exceeding Amazon's previous forecast of between USD775 million and USD825 million.
The paper also reports that Microsoft plans to lay off about 60 people and reorganise its interactive-television unit, which is shifting gears to focus on new types of services. The company, which rarely cuts jobs, also said separately that more than 140 people who were employed by its now-shuttered UltimateTV unit will likely be laid off.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 