IN THE PAPERS
In the papers 22 August
22-08-2007
by Sylvia Leatham
Nokia battery recall to cost Matsushita dear | Wal-Mart launches DRM-free music service
The Irish Times reports that the Irish Bank Officials' Association (IBOA) and Hewlett-Packard have agreed to meet at the Labour Relations Commission (LRC) on Wednesday for talks over threatened industrial action by the finance union. Members of the IBOA in HP who work on the Bank of Ireland account recently voted by a substantial majority to support all-out strike action for a pay claim. The two sides were invited by the advisory services division of the LRC to engage in "without prejudice" talks.
The paper also reports that Ryanair has launched a new financial services website called Ryanair Money. The new site, which Ryanair describes as a one-stop-shop for passengers' financial needs, incorporates existing Ryanair financial services with a number of new offerings. Among the new products on offer are house insurance, life assurance and mortgage protection.
The same paper says that Matsushita could incur costs of up to JPY138 billion (USD1.2 billion) to replace up to 46 million lithium ion batteries for Nokia mobile phones. The battery recall could account for 28 percent of Matsushita's operating profit forecast of JPY482 billion for the year ending March 2008, according to Kota Ezawa at Nikko Citigroup. The Japanese company said it was still calculating the effect the battery replacement programme would have on its bottom line.
The paper also notes that California-based video-sharing start-up Metacafe has received USD30 million in funding from venture capital firms including Highland Capital Partners and DAG Ventures.
The Irish Independent reports on the lack of internet usage among residents of Ennis, which was named an 'Information Age Town' a decade ago. At the time, 82 percent of homes were kitted out with computers and internet access. Now, however, the number of homes with a PC has dropped by 23 percent, and broadband penetration stands at just 21 percent, according to the latest figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO). The figures also show that almost half of Ennis houses have no access to the internet.
The Irish Examiner says that the campaign to save Shannon's Heathrow slots has moved online with the launch of the SaveShannon.com website. The site is appealing for people to post video clips on YouTube telling their personal stories arising out of the loss of the Heathrow connection.
The paper also says that property development firm Treasury Holdings is seeking planning permission for a business and technology park that would create up to 2,500 jobs along the Waterford-Tipperary border. The developers envisage research and development to be a major component of the technology park, with the pharmaceutical and biotechnology areas key to its future.
The Financial Times says that mobile operator Vodafone is unlikely to receive dividends on its 45 percent stake in Verizon Wireless, the second-largest US mobile operator, until 2010 or later, based on a Financial Times analysis of the joint venture's debt and potential spending plans. Vodafone's last dividend from Verizon Wireless was in 2005 but the UK company's executives have indicated that they expect payments to resume by 2009. But the likely slippage to 2010 or later could fuel tension between Verizon Communications, the US telecoms company that controls Verizon Wireless through its 55 percent stake, and Vodafone, although both publicly maintain they have a productive partnership.
According to the same paper, US retail giant Wal-Mart has announced the launch of a music download service that sells songs from EMI and Universal Music Group without the digital rights management (DRM) copy protection that limits the kinds of device on which they can be played. The move, which comes as Amazon is planning a similar service, marks a potential challenge to the digital dominance of Apple's iTunes, since it offers music that can be played both on the iPod and on less popular but cheaper MP3 players.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Japanese consumer electronics maker Sharp has unveiled a new ultra-thin liquid-crystal display (LCD) television that will be much lighter than any other television currently available. The next-generation television, which Sharp hopes to begin mass-producing in 2010, should help the company maintain profits as prices for conventional LCD TVs continue to fall rapidly.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 