IN THE PAPERS
In the papers 11 March
11-03-2008
by Sylvia Leatham
Shareholders vote to remove Payzone executives | EU to investigate US ban on internet gambling
The Irish Times reports that shareholders of e-payments group Payzone on Monday supported motions to remove Chief Executive John Nagle and Chief Financial Officer John Williamson from their posts at an extraordinary general meeting in Dublin. Just over 83 percent of the vote was in favour of dismissing Nagle, while 82.4 percent voted to remove Williamson. A motion to remove Payzone's chairman, Bob Thian, was defeated, with just over 27 percent voting in favour. Payzone said a trading update would be issued later this week. Until then, its shares on London's AIM will remain suspended.
The paper also says that Vodafone Ireland has apologised to customers after a "random" fault on its system led to some 1,000 mobile subscribers having access to voicemails left on other subscribers' phones. The company said the voicemail service for 220,000 of its customers was shut down for four hours on Monday last week while repairs were undertaken. Vodafone said in a statement that "a very small proportion" of its customers encountered a technical problem with voicemail services last week.
The paper also says that Microsoft has cut the price of its Xbox 360 games console in Europe, as noted by ENN on Monday.
The Irish Independent reports that call centre staff who were recently made redundant by Glasgow-based Contact 4 are still owed money for at least six weeks' work. The 108 former employees at the Contact 4 financial services centres in Donegal, Mayo and Kerry are owed in excess of EUR200,000 in wages, as well as bonuses and pension payments.
The paper also reports on job creation at Chase Paymentech in Dublin and DePuy Ireland in Cork, as reported by ENN.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Take-Two Interactive Software has been hit with a shareholder lawsuit related to its rejection of an unsolicited acquisition offer by rival Electronic Arts. The lawsuit alleges that Take-Two executives sought to enrich themselves at the expense of shareholders through a compensation agreement, amended in February after EA made a private offer for the company, that could grant them a big pay-out if Take-Two is acquired. The lawsuit, filed on behalf of shareholder Patrick Solomon, names as defendants Take-Two chairman Strauss Zelnick and CEO Benjamin Feder. Take-Two said it intends to fight the suit.
The paper also says the European Union is to investigate whether US laws banning internet gambling violate international trade rules. The investigation could lead to the EU taking action against the US at the World Trade Organisation. European companies claim US Justice Department investigations into their activities infringe on world trade rules. "The US has the right to address legitimate public policy concerns relating to internet gambling, but discrimination against EU companies cannot be part of the policy mix," said EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson in a statement.
The Financial Times reports that Rupert Murdoch dimmed further the hopes of Yahoo executives seeking to rebuff Microsoft's takeover campaign by playing down News Corp's interest in the internet company. "We're not going to get into a fight with Microsoft, which has a lot more money than us," said Murdoch, chief executive of the News Corp.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 