IN THE PAPERS
In the papers 4 July
04-07-2007
by Sylvia Leatham
Eircom staff urged not to accept EUR66m redundancy programme | HM Riverdeep undergoes internal restructuring
The Irish Times reports that staff at Eircom have been advised by their trade unions not to co-operate with a EUR66 million voluntary redundancy programme until the result of a strike ballot is known. Unions are in dispute with Eircom over its failure to implement a 2 percent pay rise on 1 May. Eircom is seeking 400 voluntary redundancies by the end of this year, and the average payout to workers is expected to be EUR165,000. Strike ballots are currently taking place and the results are expected on Monday.
The paper also says that education publisher HM Riverdeep has initiated an internal restructuring, involving the liquidation of subsidiaries holding USD1.89 billion in assets, as a prelude to the move of its ultimate parent company to the Cayman Islands. The reorganisation comes in advance of an extraordinary general meeting in Dublin next Monday, at which shareholders will approve the move of the company to the Caymans from Ireland. HM Riverdeep was formed late last year from a reverse takeover of US publisher Houghton Mifflin by online education firm Riverdeep.
The Irish Independent reports that the most expensive iPhone model could deliver profit margins of more than 55 percent for Apple, according to iSuppli. Apple shares rose after the research firm said hardware and manufacturing cost USD265.83, or almost 45 percent, of the USD600 iPhone model, which has 8 gigabytes of storage. Apple shares rose USD4.42, or almost 4 percent, on Nasdaq after the news.
The paper also says that an Irish bank has been rapped by the Ombudsman for allowing a thief using a stolen ATM card to walk off with EUR4,000 of his victim's money from his own branch. In his latest report, the Ombudsman reveals how a customer had his ATM card stolen and the thief made two withdrawals amounting to EUR550 from two ATM machines. Just over an hour later, the thief walked into the bank where his victim had his account and was given EUR4,000 across the counter after he produced the stolen ATM card and PIN. The Ombudsman said the bank was negligent in facilitating the withdrawal without asking for proof of identification and awarded the complainant EUR4,000.
The Financial Times says that Buongiorno, the Italian mobile content company, has agreed to buy iTouch for EUR141 million, in a move that sees ownership of the South African group change just four months after a management buyout. The move will make Buongiorno the world's largest mobile content provider and comes after senior management, backed by US investment group Oak Investment Partners and Goldman Sachs, paid USD100 million for iTouch in March.
The paper also reports that Russian music download site Allofmp3.com has been shut down, after the US had warned it could prevent Russia from joining the World Trade Organisation. Allofmp3.com, whose ultra-cheap prices had made it by some estimates Britain's second most popular download site, ceased operating shortly before President Vladimir Putin left Moscow for Monday's summit with President George Bush in Maine.
Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal reports that while Allofmp3.com has gone offline, a nearly identical site for downloading digital music has emerged in Moscow. MP3sparks.com comes complete with a similar design, similar legal disclaimers and even a Moscow phone number answered by the puzzled owners of a parquet flooring store.
The paper also says that online auction site eBay has opened a classifieds website in the US, its first foray stateside into an area that has been dominated by Craigslist. eBay has opened a US version of Kijiji, the online-classifieds site it launched overseas in February 2005. Until now, Kijiji was available in certain countries in Europe and Asia, as well as in Canada, but not in the US.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 