IN THE PAPERS
In the papers 17 July
17-07-2007
by Deirdre McArdle
Stalemate at LRC between Eircom and unions | Google's Irish unit facing antitrust challenge in Australian courts
The Irish Times reports that educational publisher Houghton Mifflin has agreed to buy the Harcourt and Greenwood Heinemann business from the Anglo-Dutch Reed Elsevier group for USD4 billion (EUR2.9 billion). The deal comes seven months after Barry O'Callaghan led Riverdeep into a reverse takeover of the Boston-based Houghton Mifflin for USD4.95 billion.
The same paper says that Merrill Lynch is to locate a EUR30 million research, development and innovation centre at its Leopardstown, Dublin offices in a move that could create up to 40 new jobs. This marks the largest R&D investment to date by a financial services company in Ireland. The new centre will have a global remit and is being cited as a vehicle for Merrill Lynch to expand in Europe.
The paper also reports that talks between management at Eircom and trade unions adjourned on Monday night after more than six hours at the Labour Relations Commission (LRC). Discussions at the LRC, which are aimed at avoiding strike action at Eircom, are expected to resume either Tuesday or Wednesday. It is understood that senior management at Eircom will review the situation at a meeting on Tuesday.
The Irish Times also reveals that Google's Irish unit is facing an antitrust challenge in the Australian courts over alleged "misleading and deceptive conduct". Legal proceedings were initiated by the Australian Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (ACCC) against Google Ireland, Google Australia and their parent Google Inc over alleged breaches of trade protection legislation. Google Australia said the claims were without merit, while Google's spokesman in Dublin told the paper: "As with any similar filings, Google will study the submission and decide how to respond in the coming weeks."
The Irish Independent reports that Ireland has ranked 24th out of 30 in broadband access in a survey from the OECD. The survey uses data from 2005 and 2006, and is considered to be out of date by many industry watchers who say the Irish broadband market has changed considerably over the past two years.
Still with the OECD broadband report, the Irish Examiner says that Ireland is one of the most expensive countries in Europe for entry-level broadband. At an average cost of EUR13.19 per month, Irish entry-level prices are higher than those in countries such as Sweden (EUR7.82), Denmark (EUR8.06), Switzerland (EUR9.09), France (EUR11.87) and Italy (EUR12.79).
The same paper says that, according to the president of Limerick Chamber of Commerce, workers who take up a voluntary redundancy package at Dell will have little difficulty getting other work in Limerick. Reg Freake said that while the decision by Dell to seek up to 100 voluntary redundancies was disappointing, it was unsurprising. "Realistically the situation could have been a lot worse," he commented. Dell is currently culling 10 percent of its global workforce.
The Wall Street Journal reports that mobile operator Sprint Nextel has plans to launch Loopt "friend finding" service. The service allows mobile phone users to view the location of friends who are also Loopt users. Using the Global Positioning System and other network technology, the service tracks phones and updates users' locations every 15 minutes. Sprint will shortly begin offering the application for USD2.99 a month on more than 25 phones. Loopt CEO and founder Sam Altman says the service will be available on other leading operators soon.
In more mobile news, the same paper says that Google is developing a new search service for mobile phones that will help consumers find and buy ringtones, games and other mobile content, people familiar with the matter say. With the new system, users would search for a piece of content and get back a list of providers as well as links enabling them to purchase the material.
The Financial Times reports that Facebook will be in court next week trying to convince a US judge to throw out claims that founder Mark Zuckerberg created Facebook using code and other ideas stolen from a rival site, ConnectU, run by three former Harvard classmates. The hearing marks the latest twist in a three-year legal battle between the pair. ConnectU is seeking an injunction that would shut down Facebook and transfer many of its assets to Zuckerberg's aggrieved former colleagues.
The same paper says that Dow Jones directors are expected to begin formal deliberations on a USD5 billion offer from Rupert Murdoch's News Corp on Tuesday evening, according to people familiar with the matter. This follows the reaching of a tentative agreement late Monday between a special committee of the board of Dow Jones, the publisher of the Wall Street Journal, and News Corp negotiators.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 