IN THE PAPERS
In The Papers 9 September
09-09-2009
by Sylvia Leatham
Microsoft attacks Google books deal | Palm unveils Pixi
The Irish Times reports that Bank of Ireland is investigating a technical error that led to 120,000 customers being charged twice on certain Laser card transactions. The bank said the the problem occurred in transactions last Friday that were duplicated on Monday, resulting in some accounts being charged twice for the same transaction. "The error has now been rectified on customer accounts and most customers will have experienced no adverse impact," the bank said.
The Irish Independent says that 63 Aer Lingus workers were axed after first getting a text from management informing them of a "major jobs announcement". The SMS informed the cabin crew members to expect a telephone call, and it was by phone that they learned they were losing their jobs. One union official described the way the workers had been told as "a disgrace".
The Financial Times says that EMI has shipped 5 million remastered CDs by The Beatles to retail stores, as it looks to stem the album format's decline in the single-track download age. Pre-sales indicated that the re-release of all 13 UK Beatles albums was on track to be "the biggest catalogue reissue ever conducted in the history of the music business," according to Ernesto Schmitt, head of EMI's global catalogue business. The remastered catalogue, not available online, could reinvigorate the popularity of CDs, which have dragged US album sales down 14.5 percent for the year to date.
The paper also says that Microsoft has delivered one of the most outspoken attacks yet on Google's digital books settlement at a hearing in Washington. The software giant condemned the proposed settlement as "an unprecedented misuse of the judicial system". It said that under the guise of resolving a narrow legal dispute, it would give Google broad online rights to millions of books that were still in copyright, prejudging an issue that should be left to the US Congress to decide. "A class action settlement is the wrong mechanism, this court is the wrong venue and monopolisation is the wrong means to carry out the worthy goal of digitising and increasing the accessibility of books," said Microsoft.
The paper also says that French entertainment and telecoms group Vivendi plans to launch an amicable bid for Brazilian telco GVT. Vivendi said it would launch a tender offer for 100 percent of GVT's capital that would value the Brazilian broadband and telecoms firm at EUR2 billion. The price represents more than a 15 percent premium over GVT's closing share price on Tuesday. Vivendi's offer would only go ahead if it could obtain at least 51 percent of GVT's capital. The tender offer is subject to Vivendi board approval and due diligence.
The Wall Street Journal reports that smartphone maker Palm has unveiled a thinner, smaller handset called the Pixi, as part of an effort to turn itself around. Palm said the Pixi will have many of the same features as the Pre, which was launched three months ago as a rival to Apple's iPhone. Palm said it plans to release pricing details closer to the device's launch in the coming months. Palm also said it was cutting the Pre's price to USD149.99, from a previous price of USD199.
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