IN THE PAPERS
In The Papers 3 February
03-02-2011
by Sylvia Leatham
Intel seeks voluntary redundancies in Kildare | New fund to focus on medical tech sector
The Irish Times reports that nominations are open for a new award that highlights research discoveries by scientists working in nanotechnology. The Prize Lecture for Nanoscience award will be announced on Thursday during Nanoweek by the RDS, which has organised it in partnership with Intel Ireland with the support of the Irish Times. The prize will be awarded annually, alternating between a scientist based in Ireland and an Irish scientist based abroad. The 2011 award will be presented to a scientist based in Ireland. More details are available at rds.ie/nanoscience.
The paper also notes that arrests have begun of a New York crime gang that used stolen credit card numbers for a million-dollar Apple Store shopping spree. After buying stolen account numbers through underground websites, the group stored the data in shared email accounts, then printed fake Visa and MasterCard cards. Gang members would then fan out to use the cards in Apple Stores in major cities such as Los Angeles, Atlanta, Las Vegas and St Louis, according to an indictment. Arrests of 27 suspects began this week.
The Irish Independent reports that chip giant Intel is seeking up to 100 voluntary redundancies after the company confirmed it is closing a factory at its Leixlip campus in March. The company informed staff that it was seeking the redundancies as part of the closure of the 'Fab 10' facility at its Kildare site. A number of staff have been reassigned or have been able to upskill to remain with Intel, but about 100 redundancies are required.
The Irish Examiner reports that Kernel Capital has launched a EUR10 million fund that will focus exclusively on the indigenous medical technology sector. The Bank of Ireland MedTech Accelerator Fund will provide investments ranging from EUR100,000 to EUR500,000 and is focused on export-orientated high potential start-up life sciences companies that operate in the medical device, diagnostics or medical sectors.
According to the Financial Times, Sony has posted a 5.9 percent drop in third-quarter profit as a price war hit its TV unit and a stronger yen took its toll. The consumer electronics group posted an operating profit of JPY137.52 billion (USD1.68 billion), compared to JPY146.1 billion a year earlier, beating an average analyst estimate of JPY127 billion. Sony cut its annual revenue forecast by 3 percent to JPY7,200 billion, citing lower-than-expected sales in the consumer, professional and devices segment.
The paper also says that deep cuts at MySpace triggered a USD275 million charge to News Corp's quarterly earnings. Results from MySpace were "below expectations", News Corp said, and Chase Carey, chief operating officer, said the site "may be better developed under a new ownership structure" However, Carey gave no indication of when MySpace might be sold, or at what price. In spite of the MySpace charge, News Corp's net income for the fiscal second quarter more than doubled to USD642 million, or USD0.24 per share, up from USD254 million, or USD0.10, a year earlier, when results included a USD500 million litigation settlement.
In more news of Rupert Murdoch's empire, the Wall Street Journal reports that News Corp has unveiled The Daily, a tablet newspaper that Murdoch described as "the model" for making news-gathering a viable business in the digital age. The Daily, a general news publication designed solely for the iPad and other tablets, will cost USD0.99 a week or USD39.99 a year. It will feature news, opinion, sports and lifestyle content, including audio, 360-degree photos and video.
The paper also says that one of Microsoft's top internet executives has called allegations by Google that Microsoft copies its rival's search results "insulting". Yusuf Mehdi, a Microsoft senior vice president, sought to forcefully discredit the results of an experiment Google managers recently conducted, which they say proved Microsoft's Bing search engine imitated results from the Google search engine. In a blog post, Mehdi suggested the effort by Google was little more than a publicity stunt, saying it was "interesting to watch the level of protest and feigned outrage from Google".
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 