IN THE PAPERS
In The Papers 1 March
01-03-2011
by Sylvia Leatham
Imagine suing Motorola for EUR90m | Ex-Apple exec pleads guilty to fraud
The Irish Times reports that Motorola is being sued for EUR90 million over alleged breach of agreements related to the provision of broadband services in Ireland. The case has been brought by IBB Internet Services Ltd and Irish Broadband Internet Services Ltd (trading as Imagine Networks and Imagine Communications Group Ltd). Paul Sreenan, SC for the plaintiffs, said they contracted Motorola in 2009 to provide an end-to-end broadband network nationwide in Ireland, using WiMax technology. His side contended there were significant failures by the defendant in meeting its obligations and that this led to the plaintiffs being unable to meet known customer demand or to provide a network of the standard and specification contracted for. Paul Gardiner, SC for Motorola, said it was contending it had abided by its contract.
The Financial Times reports that a former Apple procurement manager has pleaded guilty to wire fraud and other charges in a multi-million-dollar kickback scheme. Paul Devine entered a plea agreement in federal court in San Jose, California, accepting responsibility for one count each of wire fraud, conspiracy and money laundering. The ultimate loss to Apple was more than USD2.4 million, according to the agreement, and Devine agreed to forfeit USD2.25 million in proceeds from his actions. He is scheduled to be sentenced in June.
The paper also says that a former AMD supply chain manager, who prosecutors allege provided inside information to hedge funds, is in talks to plead guilty, according to his lawyer. Mark Anthony Longoria, who also worked as a paid consultant for Primary Global Research, was charged last year by federal prosecutors with passing quarterly earnings information to hedge fund managers. Prosecutors face a deadline of 7 March to file an indictment, seek an extension or present a guilty plea.
The Wall Street Journal reports that the online display-advertising market could top USD100 billion over the next several years, according to Google. Neal Mohan, Google's vice president for product management, said the company has some 1,000 engineers around the world working to eliminate complexity and challenges from the internet display advertising market, an effort that will prompt more advertisers to spend more of their budgets online. "We really believe the overall market is at a tipping point," said Mohan.
The paper also notes that mobile handset maker Sony Ericsson is open to partnerships such as joint ventures in China's gaming industry and plans to sell its new Xperia Play device in the country, according to CEO Bert Nordberg. In an interview, Nordberg declined to give a timeline for the device's launch in China but said the company will need at least three months to make preparations, such as expanding the games available from Chinese developers.
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