IN THE PAPERS
In The Papers 16 August
16-08-2010
by Sylvia Leatham
Shared Access offers floodlight mast deal | Apple manager arrested on kickback charges
The Irish Times reports that US telecoms equipment firm Shared Access is preparing to increase its investment in a novel floodlighting scheme for Irish schoolboy and junior football clubs. Shared Access had expected to spend EUR24 million on providing floodlights to about 200 clubs around the country, but the volume of applications has resulted in it agreeing to provide lights to 310 clubs at a cost of EUR36 million. The company has agreed to pay for and erect floodlights for the clubs in return for being able to place phone masts on the pylons that it will then rent to mobile operators.
The Irish Examiner says that Ireland has become one of the EU's top electronic recycling nations. Since the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) scheme began in 2005, Ireland has recycled 33 million appliances, with WEEE Ireland collecting enough TVs and monitors to go around the M50 14 times.
The Wall Street Journal reports that an Apple employee has been accused of taking part in a kickback scheme in Asia. Paul Shin Devine, a global supply manager at Apple, was accused in a federal grand jury indictment with receiving more than USD1 million in kickbacks from six Apple suppliers in Asia. Devine, who was arrested Friday, was charged with offences that include wire fraud, money laundering and unlawful monetary transactions. The indictment also names Andrew Ang, an employee of one of Apple's suppliers, who is accused of wire fraud and conspiracy.
The paper also says that Canadian BlackBerry maker Research In Motion has offered information and tools to help India conduct surveillance of mobile e-mail and messaging services on its handset, according to sources. In a series of discussions, RIM offered to provide crucial information that would help the Indian government track down messages sent via the company's encrypted corporate e-mail service, according to these sources. RIM's promise of user confidentiality is encountering resistance from governments around the globe. Countries including the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia have sought to monitor BlackBerry services for threats to national security.
The Financial Times reports that a loophole in Mark Hurd's contract makes it hard for Hewlett-Packard to dismiss him outright and adds to pressure on the board to give him severance pay that could be worth nearly USD40 million, according to experts. The terms of the former HP chief executive's employment did not lay out any specific circumstances in which the company would fire him "for cause", which would have enabled it to avoid paying severance. This contrasts with the contracts of most chief executives in the US, which usually lay out more detailed conditions on which they can be fired, including for breaches of a company's ethical code of behaviour, said Nell Minow, a US corporate governance expert.
The Sunday Business Post reports that Eircom is to launch a new mobile phone service later this year, called Eircom Mobile. The service will use Meteor's network and will target the same market as its subsidiary. The telecoms company originally began Eircom Mobile as a corporate mobile phone service, but now plans a full consumer market launch. It is not yet clear what the move will mean for Meteor.
The same paper says that the Health Service Executive is facing accusations from a group representing makers of medical equipment that it is denying patients access to the latest medical technology. According to the Irish Medical and Surgical Trade Association, the HSE's procurement process is "overly simplistic". It also said it does not take into account the cost savings that some equipment could generate, and is hampering efforts by the State's enterprise agencies to create high-end jobs here. However, the HSE has refuted some of the claims, saying its procurement process was stringent, fair and transparent. The IMSTA has called for the departments of health and enterprise to work with the industry.
The paper also reports that MobileAware, which left examinership two years ago, is now approaching break-even. The mobile software company has strengthened its balance sheet, with reports indicating that it may be set to post a profit this year after booking a net loss of EUR615,000 in the year ended March 2009. The company's spokesman said MobileAware was close to break-even point in the year ended March 2010, after signing a number of significant contracts including a large European airline group and US mobile operator. Shareholders injected EUR1.26 million into the company during the year.
The Sunday Business Post also warns potential jobseekers to beware of what they post online, after a new survey by iReach Market Research found that more than 80 percent of businesses who check social networking sites are influenced by what they find. The survey, which was carried out on behalf of Bank of Scotland (Ireland) in association with the newspaper, discovered 16 percent of businesses check social networking sites. However, only a small number of businesses are using the sites to promote their own company, with about 25 percent utilising the sites. Only one in 10 businesses has a blog, with the majority considering them either irrelevant or citing security risks as a reason not to bother.
The Sunday Tribune reports that that financier Dermot Desmond has increased his stake in payments firm Neovia to 29.8 percent. Desmond previously owned about 28 percent of the company. He bought around 1.39 million Neovia shares on 2 August. The company had revenues of EUR50 million in 2009, posting a loss before tax of EUR7.7 million.
The same paper says that bookmaker Paddy Power is riding high in Apple's Irish App store with its new iPhone app. The downloadable software allows users of the iPhone and iPod Touch to access its website, with the iPhone now accounting for more than 50 percent of sports betting on the Paddy Power mobile channel.
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