IN THE PAPERS
In the papers 23 April
23-04-2008
by Sylvia Leatham
AT&T unveils strong first quarter | IBM aims new data centre machine at Web 2.0 firms
The Irish Independent reports on the Data Protection Commissioner's investigation of Bank of Ireland after four of its laptops, with details of 10,000 customers, were stolen last year. Read the full story on ENN.
According to the Financial Times, US telecoms giant AT&T has unveiled quarterly results that could help allay concerns about the impact of the economic slowdown on the telecoms industry. Strong revenue growth and expanded margins -- particularly in its mobile phone network operations, which have been boosted by sales of the iPhone -- helped AT&T report its 12th consecutive quarter of double-digit growth in earnings per share. Profits rose 21 percent from USD2.8 billion to USD3.5 billion, boosted by a 6.1 percent increase in revenues to USD30.7 billion. Operating income margins expanded to 19.5 percent, up from 16.1 percent, while earnings per share increased from USD0.45 to USD0.57.
The paper also says that a former chief financial officer of Mercury Interactive, the software maker bought by Hewlett-Packard two years ago, has been charged by a federal grand jury with tax evasion in connection with stock options backdating. According to the indictment, Sharlene Abrams, who served as chief financial officer from 1993 and 2001, allegedly orchestrated the backdating of stock option exercise dates for herself and two others, including her former chief executive, "in order to reduce the income taxes due on the gains realised by the exercises" in April, May and August 2001. Abrams was charged with one count of tax evasion and two counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation of false tax returns for Amnon Landan, former chief executive, and Kenneth Klein, then chief operating officer.
The Wall Street Journal reports that IBM is to announce a new type of computer designed for the giant data centres operated by Web 2.0 companies. IBM's iDataPlex line is intended for companies that buy vertical racks containing dozens of servers based on Intel microprocessors. IBM said the product, due for sale next month, is aimed at fewer than 1,000 customers worldwide. Jim Gargan, a vice president for IBM's enterprise systems group, said the company hopes some customers will buy systems costing "north of USD20 million."
The paper also reports that mobile handset maker Sony Ericsson's first-quarter net profit fell 48 percent, weighed by slowing market growth. Net income in the period declined to EUR133 million from EUR254 million a year earlier. Pre-tax profit was EUR193 million, compared with EUR362 million in the year-earlier quarter. Sales fell to EUR2.7 billion from EUR2.93 billion a year earlier. Sony Ericsson said it still expects the global handset market for 2008 to grow by about 10 percent, largely in fast-growing emerging markets.
The paper also notes that online auction firm eBay has filed a lawsuit against Craigslist's directors for allegedly unfairly diluting its interest in the classified-listings website. The suit was filed Tuesday in Delaware's Court of Chancery against the two directors of San Francisco-based Craigslist: founder Craig Newmark and CEO Jim Buckmaster. Since eBay said it filed the suit under seal because of some confidentiality issues, details of the case were not revealed.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 