IN THE PAPERS
In The Papers 19 May
19-05-2010
by Sylvia Leatham
Voda shareholders may get dividend increase | Microsoft sues Salesforce in patent case
The Irish Times reports that bookmaker Paddy Power has said 350 jobs earmarked for Ireland could be lost if the Government does not find a way to apply an online betting tax to its offshore competitors. At the company's AGM, Chief Executive Patrick Kennedy said these new 'smart economy' jobs were at risk. There would also be a potential impact on 700 existing jobs at the company's site in Tallaght following the Taoiseach's announcement that internet betting will be taxed. "We will employ an additional 750 staff over the next three years and 350 jobs are earmarked for Ireland... However, we have felt for some time, and the Taoiseach's comments reinforced this, that there is a risk that these jobs will have to be diverted from Ireland... in anticipation of a tax that gives advantage to offshore operators," he said.
The paper also says that 400,000 Irish Vodafone shareholders are set to benefit from a possible increase in their annual dividend, after the mobile operator announced it is targeting an annual dividend per share growth of no less than 7 percent for the next three years. The news comes as Vodafone reported that service revenue at its Irish division was hit by the recession and increased competition. Vodafone Ireland has over 2.1 million mobile customers and it said that for the three months ended 31 March, average monthly revenue per user fell 7.7 percent to EUR36.10. It noted that two weeks after the launch of the Apple iPhone, 40,000 of the devices were being used on its network. The company also has 194,000 fixed-line voice and broadband customers.
The Irish Examiner gives more coverage to 'fruitbatgate', saying a university president has rejected the internet campaign which says sanctions against a lecturer for sexual harassment are a breach of academic freedom. In his blog, Dublin City University president Professor Ferdinand von Prondzynski said the documentation relating to the case posted online does not wholly support the case being made by Dr Evans. "Whatever the merits of the case may be -- and I still have an open mind -- it is not about academic freedom," Prof von Prondzynski wrote.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Microsoft has sued Salesforce.com for allegedly infringing on nine of its patents. Microsoft said in a complaint filed in federal court in Seattle that Salesforce.com has willfully infringed on patents related to technologies including mapping data and displaying menus on internet pages. Microsoft said it is seeking unspecified damages.
The paper also says that Yahoo is buying Associated Content, a website that hires freelance writers and video producers to share their expertise on a wide variety of subjects. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Associated Content draws upon more than 350,000 freelancers who contribute how-to stories, reviews, opinion pieces and coverage about what's happening in neighbourhoods across the US. Yahoo is hoping Associated Content's story mix will create more opportunities to sell online advertising and revive its revenue growth.
The Financial Times says that Hewlett-Packard has posted second-quarter revenues of over USD30 billion as businesses resumed hardware purchases. Sales to 30 April were up 13 percent from a year earlier and beat Wall Street expectations of USD29.8 billion. Earnings per share rose 27 percent to USD1.09, ahead of analysts' estimate of USD1.05. "After many customers deferred hardware purchases in 2009, we are seeing strong growth in a number of our businesses," said Mark Hurd, chief executive. The company's PC business grew by 21 percent to USD10 billion. Desktop revenues grew by 27 percent and notebooks by 17 percent.
The same paper says that Google is to purchase Global IP Solutions, a Norwegian internet telephony company, for USD68.2 million. The deal would put Google further into direct competition with Skype and traditional telecoms companies, and would also mean that Google would own the technology that underpins part of the instant messaging systems of rivals including Yahoo, AOL and Baidu. Global IP Solutions makes the underlying processing software for voice and video calls over internet networks.
Free! "In the papers" email newsletter -- get the full text to your in-box every business day. Email itp@enn.ie with 'subscribe' in the subject line.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 