ROUNDUPS
In the papers 18 June
18-06-2002
by Ralph Averbuch
Music piracy costs Irish industry EUR4 million a year | Netscape founder Andreessen sells Loudcloud business for USD63.5 million
The Irish Examiner reports that teenagers using CD burners to copy music represent the main threat to the music business. Music piracy in Ireland amounts to claimed losses of around EUR4 million a year for the industry. Sean Murtagh, the anti-piracy operations head at the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA), says the country had a relatively low rate of piracy, but he anticipates this changing rapidly as private PC ownership with CD copiers rises. Global sales of pirated music CDs rose by nearly 50 percent to 950 million units in 2001, while sales of recordable CDs tripled to 450 million units.
According to the Irish Times, Ireland recorded the highest number of text messages so far in the last quarter. A report from the Office of the Director of Telecommunications Regulation (ODTR) says the half billion barrier was broken. This means that the typical phone user in Ireland sends an average of 62 messages a month. Read more about the ODTR's quarterly report in ElectricNews.Net's Internet and telecoms section.
The paper also reports that technology and telecoms stocks bounced back following Friday's drop, adding 5 per cent or more to the top stocks such as Nokia and Deutsche Telekom. Analysts described it as largely a technical bounce. However, Ericsson continued its downward spiral, dropping 3.3 percent to SKR17.40.
The Financial Times reports that STMicroelectronics, Europe's biggest semiconductor maker, is on an acquisition trail as part of a new strategy to take advantage of the anticipated consolidation in the sector. Chairman and CEO Pasquale Pistorio said he was "ready and poised to seize a big acquisition opportunity." This marks a change from relying only on internal growth, which has taken the firm from 15th position to the world's third largest semiconductor company in the last 10 years.
The paper also reports that Ericsson had its long-term debt downgraded. Moody's cut Ericsson's rating to Baa3 and warned it would cut it again if the company's SKR30bn (USD3.1 million) rights issue did not proceed as planned. The rating agency said Ericsson was being damaged by a lack of new orders for second generation wireless equipment and delays in the installation of third generation systems.
Still on Ericsson, the Wall Street Journal reports that the mobile phone joint venture between Sony and Ericsson is having a hard time staying in the black. Sony Ericsson Mobile Communication's President, Katsumi Ihara, admitted that staying profitable this year will be "a challenge" for the company. Ihara attributed this to the lowered expectations on new handset sales which were originally forecast to be in the order of 400 million to 420 million units globally. Ihara was unveiling Sony Ericsson's latest phones capable of multimedia messaging and four new models that will go on sale this year.
The paper also reports that Audiogalaxy settled a lawsuit filed against it by major record companies and music publishers. They had accused the on-line music site of allowing music piracy over the Internet. The terms of settlement include making a "substantial payment" to the two trade groups that filed the lawsuit on behalf of recording companies and music publishers. Audiogalaxy is reported to have also agreed to remove all material that infringes music industry copyrights.
The paper also reports that Electronic Data Systems says it plans to acquire Loudcloud. Chaired by Netscape co-founder Marc Andreessen, Loudcloud's Internet-hosting business will be bought for USD63.5 million and license software from the company, which is changing its name to Opsware.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 