IN THE PAPERS
In the papers 24 January
24-01-2008
by Sylvia Leatham
Liquidator appointed to iQon Technologies | BBC links up with MySpace
The Irish Times reports that the High Court has appointed a liquidator to Louth-based PC maker iQon Technologies. Justice Peter Kelly appointed Michael McAteer of Foster McAteer as liquidator after being told the firm had been unable to raise the investment necessary to ensure its survival as a going concern.
The paper also says that BT Ireland has won a five-year deal worth EUR1.3 million with Cork-based SWS Business Process Outsourcing. Read more on this story on ENN.
The same paper says that shares in Apple dropped by as much as 19 percent on Wednesday after investors reacted badly to a weak forecast from the firm. Read the details of Apple's results on ENN.
The paper also reports that Minister for Education and Science Mary Hanafin has promised to deliver "within a month" an expert report on how best to spend EUR250 million for school computers promised last year in the 2007-2013 development plan. Her undertaking came at a conference in Berlin on IT in schools and e-government organised by Microsoft. Hanafin defended herself against complaints by the Irish National Teachers' Organisation (INTO) that she had not yet spent "a red cent" of funds earmarked for IT last year. "I set up a strategy group at the beginning of the summer last year to examine the best way to target this specific bunch of money," she said.
The Irish Independent notes that the High Court has continued interim injunctions preventing Payzone from dismissing Chief Executive John Nagle and Chief Financial Officer John Williamson until both sides appear before the court next Tuesday. Both men secured interim injunctions last week.
The Irish Examiner reports that pharmaceutical firm Merck Sharp & Dohme is linking with the Irish Research Council for Science, Engineering & Technology to promote advanced research at UCC and UCD, as noted by ENN on Thursday.
According to the Financial Times, MySpace and the BBC's commercial arm will on Thursday announce an agreement that will see clips from popular programmes distributed on the social networking site. BBC Worldwide will be MySpace's first broadcasting partner as the site seeks to increase the video content available to users. The two companies will share advertising revenue, but they declined to discuss the financial terms agreed.
The paper also says that Qualcomm, the biggest maker of chips for mobile phones, posted a 21 percent rise in year-on-year quarterly sales and profits and raised its revenue forecast for 2008. Qualcomm reported first-quarter revenues of USD2.44 billion and earnings per share of USD0.52. The consensus of analysts polled by Reuters was for revenues of USD2.41 billion and earnings of USD0.53 a share.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Yahoo is in early discussions with major record labels over offering unprotected MP3s either for sale or for free as part of an ad-supported service, according to sources. The talks, held as recently as last month, were preliminary because Yahoo is still working out the details, said the sources. Yahoo hopes to launch the service this year, they said.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 