IN THE PAPERS
In the papers 19 July
19-07-2007
by Sylvia Leatham
Eircom strike averted | HP remains tops for PC shipments
The Irish Times reports that management and unions at Eircom have reached agreement in principle on a deal that is expected to avert threatened industrial action. The deal will involve Eircom paying a 2 percent increase due under the national agreement, Towards 2016, while unions will enter into structured talks on management's plans for reform of operational procedures at the company.
The same paper says that ratings agency Moody's may downgrade its credit ratings on USD2.4 billion of HM Riverdeep's debt, following news of the firm's planned purchase of Reed Elsevier's US education arm. The agency has noted the planned USD4 billion deal and said it would review the ratings it had placed on HM Riverdeep because of concerns about the company's debt burden. The Reed Elsevier transaction is expected to leave HM Riverdeep with some USD7.5 billion in debt.
The paper also says that 81 percent of Irish companies are using Eircom as their primary telecoms provider, according to a new e-business survey on behalf of Chambers Ireland. Read more on the survey results on ENN.
The same paper reports that software services provider Stream International is to create up to 750 jobs at a Derry call centre, as noted by ENN on Wednesday.
The Irish Independent says that Intel has posted a 44 percent increase in second-quarter net income, as reported on ENN.
The Irish Examiner says that auction site eBay has announced a rise in second-quarter net income to USD375 million. Read more details of eBay's results on ENN.
The paper also says that a call for speedy action to ensure rural Kerry gets a proper broadband internet service was made on Wednesday by Independent Councillor Brendan Cronin. He said while the main towns were being serviced, people in rural areas were being left behind and experiencing the frustration of long delays in accessing the internet.
The Financial Times says that Dell continued to slip further behind rival Hewlett-Packard in PC shipments last quarter, according to new data from Gartner and IDC. The figures show that HP, which overtook Dell last year as the world's leading PC maker, continued to gain market share over its beleaguered rival. Gartner's figures show HP shipments rose more than 36 percent in the second quarter, while Dell's shipments dropped more than 5 percent owing to a difficult consumer market. IDC data showed a similar trend, with HP grabbing more than 19 percent of the worldwide PC market in the period, compared with just over 16 percent for Dell.
According to the Wall Street Journal, German software giant SAP's second-quarter net profit grew 8 percent, thanks to continued market-share gains and double-digit sales growth, as well as a lower-than-usual tax rate. SAP's net profit rose to EUR449 million from EUR415 million a year earlier, compared with analysts' expectations for EUR395 million. The company said earnings were positively impacted by an effective tax rate of 25.8 percent.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 