IN THE PAPERS
In The Papers 22 July
22-07-2010
by Sylvia Leatham
New supermarket websites could spark price war | Demand for IT workers on the rise
The Irish Times reports that Skype last year injected EUR164.6 million in new funding into a loss-making Irish subsidiary that holds the intellectual property rights to its technology. Accounts filed for Skype Limited, whose registered office is listed as the Arthur Cox Building in Earlsfort Terrace, show that it received a "contribution from shareholder" of EUR100 million in 2009. In addition, new shares worth EUR64.6 million were issued last year. Skype Ltd is owned by Skype Global, a company registered in Luxembourg. The Irish entity licenses Skype's technology to other firms within the group. It also provides technical support, maintenance and repair services to other Skype companies.
The Irish Independent says that Irish economic growth could fall by as much as 7.5 percent if there is a sudden rise in oil and gas prices, according to a report commissioned by engineering giant Siemens. Ireland, which imports more fossil fuels than almost anywhere else in Europe, would suffer more than neighbouring countries, the report said. The head of Siemens's Irish operations, Werner Kruckow, said Ireland must begin investing in four areas to mitigate the threat of rising oil prices: energy conservation, upgrading the national grid, investment in renewable resources, and maximising the use of electricity in cars, trains and buses.
The paper also notes that Midlands radio station i105107 has been searching for a 'TJ' -- a Twitter Jockey. A competition asked prospective TJs to show off their tweeting skills and to send in their examples of recent tweets.
The Irish Examiner reports that a supermarket price war is on the cards as two of the country's largest stores prepare to launch online sales. SuperValu and Dunnes Stores plan to launch an online shopping presence, with website development believed to be well underway at both companies. Tesco and Superquinn already offer online purchasing and home delivery services. SuperValu has confirmed its plan to launch a retail website early next year, while Dunnes Stores has so far refused to confirm the move but, according to industry sources, its site "is very much a work in progress".
The paper also says that professional job opportunities rose 38 percent in June compared with last year. Demand for workers in the IT sector saw a particular increase, according to the Premier Group Irish Employment Monitor. Month-on-month, however, job vacancies fell by 7 percent. There was a 31 percent increase in newly available professional jobs across Ireland this year compared with the second half of 2009. Chief executive of Premier Group Ireland Brian Murphy said the growth levels indicate that some confidence has returned to the jobs market and that businesses are taking a more positive approach to hiring. Murphy said that demand in the IT sector for software developers is a trend he expects to continue into the third quarter this year.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Motorola has sued Huawei Technologies, alleging the Chinese telecoms equipment firm engaged in an elaborate plot over a number of years to steal its latest technology. In a complaint filed in a US district court in Illinois, Motorola claims Huawei worked with more than a dozen Motorola employees during the last decade to secure detailed confidential information about its mobile network equipment. The employees named in the suit are no longer employed by Motorola. Huawei said the complaint was "utterly without merit".
The paper also reports that Connecticut's attorney general has said 37 states have joined his investigation of Google and that he continues to seek information about whether privacy laws were broken when Google's Street View vehicles collected the personal data of unsuspecting internet users. In a letter dated Wednesday sent to Google, Attorney General Richard Blumenthal seeks specific details about the collection of data, including whether Google sold or used any of the information it collected. He threatened legal recourse if he doesn't get the answers he wants, requesting the response by Friday. Blumenthal also asked Google if it had tested the program, how long the software might have spent collecting data from specific signals and to divulge specific names of employees involved and their explanations.
The Financial Times reports that PC maker Dell has admitted to accidentally installing replacement motherboards carrying malicious software in four of its server lines. The company said it was contacting all buyers of the affected servers (PowerEdge R310, R410, R510 and T410) who had had their motherboards replaced in the past year or so -- less than 1 percent of buyers. The faulty boards, infected by the W32.Spybot worm, had not been tested as rigorously as those going into servers during the original manufacturing, the company said. Forrest Norrod, Dell's general manager of server platforms, said no customers had complained that they had been compromised and that it was likely none had been.
The paper also says that an investor group is calling for a board shake-up at Vodafone due to concerns about the UK mobile operator's "strategic weaknesses" and "disastrous" acquisition record. The Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan (OTPP), which has a 0.42 percent stake in Vodafone, will vote against the re-election of Sir John Bond as the company's chairman at its annual meeting next Tuesday. The investor group will also vote against the re-election of John Buchanan as Vodafone's deputy chairman, although OTPP expressed support for Chief Executive Vittorio Colao. Analysts said OTPP's intervention might increase pressure on Vodafone to sell some of its minority investments.
The same paper notes that Facebook users have topped half a billion, according to figures from the company, and internet analysts said the site is on target to exceed 1 billion users comfortably. Facebook's announcement that it has 500 million members comes five-and-a-half months after it reached 400 million, with growth coming mostly from non-English speaking countries.
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