IN THE PAPERS
In the papers 6 March
06-03-2008
by Sylvia Leatham
Vodafone announces 4G trials | Bill Gates no longer top of rich list
The Irish Times says that software firm Oracle has posted a drop in profits and lower profit margins at its main Irish unit, a large-scale business whose annual revenues now exceed EUR3 billion. Recently filed accounts for Oracle EMEA show that its pretax profit fell more than 7 percent to EUR468.81 million in the year to May 2007, while turnover rose 17 percent to EUR3.18 billion. This means pretax profit margins fell to some 14.7 percent from 18.7 percent in the space of a year. A spokeswoman in Dublin for Oracle declined to comment on the reasons for the drop.
The paper also notes that Limerick has received a jobs boost with the announcement that more than 160 jobs are to be created by a number of locally-based companies. Seven companies, some of which are located at the National Technology Park, will create a total of 168 jobs over the next three years. The companies, which cover a range of sectors, currently employ 42 people and are expanding their businesses with the support of Enterprise Ireland. The companies include Vistakon, ChanelAdvisor, You Book In, Kneat Solutions, Biotechnical Processes and Crescent Diagnostics.
According to the Financial Times, billionaire Wall Street investor Carl Icahn has raised his stake in Motorola to 6.3 percent from a previously reported 5 percent. The increase in the stake, disclosed in a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, comes as Icahn steps up pressure on the beleaguered Motorola board and management, ahead of the company's annual meeting on 5 May. Icahn, who has urged the board to break up Motorola and spin off its loss-making mobile phone business, has put forward a slate of four directors for election to the board. In a separate filing with the SEC, Motorola's board urged shareholders to reject the Icahn nominees.
The paper also says that mobile phone users could finally be able to operate their handsets anywhere in the world under 4G wireless technology known as LTE, Vodafone has announced. The mobile operator said Long Term Evolution could result in the long sought-after convenience of being able to use the same handsets in Europe, the US and Asia. Vodafone, Verizon Wireless and China Mobile are planning to hold LTE trials in Europe, the US and China.
The same paper reports that European regulators are set to clear Google's acquisition of online advertising firm DoubleClick. The proposed USD3.1 billion deal, which was approved by US antitrust regulators late last year, has been the subject of a second-stage investigation by officials in Europe. In spite of high-level concerns in some parts of the Commission about the deal's impact on online privacy, it is set to be approved by regulators without any significant conditions being attached, according to a source. The date for the formal clearance is understood to have been set provisionally for next Tuesday.
The Wall Street Journal says that investor Warren Buffett has displaced Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates at the top of Forbes magazine's list of the world's richest individuals for 2008. Mexican telecoms tycoon Carlos Slim again took the No. 2 spot, while Gates was pushed into third place. Buffett was worth an estimated USD62 billion as of 11 February, up USD10 billion from last year. Slim's wealth climbed USD11 billion to an estimated USD60 billion while Gates' rose USD2 billion to USD58 billion.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 