IN THE PAPERS
In The Papers 11 January
11-01-2011
by Sylvia Leatham
FG website hack under investigation | ClearStream to create 70 Wexford jobs
The Irish Times reports that two investigations are under way by Gardaí and the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner following the theft of personal data belonging to 2,000 members of the public from a Fine Gael website on Sunday night. A file containing personal information -- including IP addresses, mobile phone numbers, e-mail addresses and comments left on the website by some 2,000 members of the public -- was forwarded to media outlets by e-mail from someone claiming to be from online activist group Anonymous. Fine Gael contacted Gardaí after media outlets were e-mailed by a person who said Anonymous was responsible for the attack against the site. However, this claim has been met with some scepticism.
The paper also says that two companies have announced the creation of 100 new jobs over the next three years. Irish medical devices firm ClearStream Technologies is to create 70 jobs in Wexford under a major expansion plan, while French financial software firm Murex has announced 30 new software jobs. Both companies already have a presence in Ireland.
The paper also reports that pretax profit at the Cork arm of US-owned Altera plunged 44 percent to USD12 million in 2009. Accounts filed with the Companies' Office show that Altera European Trading Company Ltd's revenues in 2009 fell from USD547.5 million to USD483.8 million. Altera designs, manufactures and markets programming logic devices and software development tools. The company established its European Shared Services Centre at the Cork Airport Business Park in 2004. The site is the administrative centre for the company's European and Japanese sales.
The Irish Independent notes that Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) has embarked on a five-year programme to facilitate access for higher education institutions to facilities and experts at the Tyndall National Institute at UCC. The SFI-funded National Access Programme, an all-island scheme open to all research staff and postgraduate students, enables researchers to access services and specialised equipment at the Tyndall Institute.
The Irish Examiner notes that over 17,000 people are facing prosecution for failing to purchase a TV licence last year. The figure, for the first 10 months of 2010, represents a rise of 1,316 on 2009 numbers.
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According to the Financial Times, chip giant Intel is close to wrapping up extensive legal disputes involving its microprocessor business, following an agreement to pay rival chipmaker Nvidia USD1.5 billion. The deal was an out-of-court settlement between the two companies and is similar to one reached with AMD in November 2009. Nvidia and Intel said they had agreed to drop all outstanding legal disputes, and a new six-year agreement for the cross-licensing of their technologies has been signed.
The paper also says that Groupon has completed a USD950 million round of financing, with investments from a number of venture firms. The money gives the online discount firm a multi-billion-dollar valuation and sets the stage for a likely IPO this year. The finance will help fund expansion at the fast-growing Chicago company, which said it has 50 million subscribers. Employees and early investors will also take some of the cash. The funding is one of the largest ever private stock deals.
The same paper notes that senior executives have been removed at both Microsoft and AMD. Microsoft said it would replace the head of its server software division, Bob Muglia, in a high-level executive shake-up that is likely to claim more heads. Meanwhile, AMD announced the sudden departure of Chief Executive Dirk Meyer and said a search had begun for his replacement.
The Wall Street Journal notes that US mobile operator Verizon Wireless is expected to announce on Tuesday that it will be offering the Apple iPhone on its network, according to sources. The move, expected around the end of January, would end AT&T's three-and-a-half-year exclusive run with the device.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 