ROUNDUPS
In the papers 15 April
15-04-2002
by Paula Mythen
Ion Equity says venture capital for Irish firms has fallen by more than 50pc in Q1| SEC investigation into the practices of Merrill Lynch analysts continues
The Irish Independent reports that according to Ion Equity, the amount of venture funding raised by Irish technology firms in the first quarter of 2002 was EUR42 million, down from EUR91 million in the first quarter of 2001.
The Financial Times reports that chip manufacturer Arm Holdings is one of the few technology stocks in the FTSE 100 and the only one in the index to have weathered the downturn without issuing a profit warning.
The Wall Street Journal reports that eight outside directors of Computer Associates International, the company which is the subject of an SEC investigation, rejected a dissident investor's request that they fire the company's senior executives, and affirmed support for the integrity of the management team. The directors, who stood by the company, said the three executives in question "exhibit the highest level of integrity" and "continue to enjoy our full confidence." They added that the eight directors had reviewed the company's accounting practices and found them to be "appropriate and transparent."
The paper also reports that Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly raised a central question in the Microsoft antitrust case last week: Is the case about the future or the past? The nine states argue that the case is about the future, finding a way to prevent anticompetitive behaviour with new products and in new markets. Microsoft has said the case should be confined solely to finding a remedy for the 12 violations it was found to have committed during the Internet-browser war of the mid-1990s, a finding the US Court of Appeals has upheld.
The Sunday Times reports on speculation that Eircom job cuts could reach 1,500 people as part of an outsourcing plan under consideration by the company. Functions that may be outsourced could include billing, property, data centres, IT, transport and finance, the paper said.
The same paper is among those reporting on the ongoing investigation by the New York attorney general into whether Merrill Lynch analysts misled investors by recommending Internet stocks that they privately described as "junk" and a "piece of shit" in e-mails. The paper reports that Merrill Lynch rejected a secret USD150 million offer from the attorney general to settle the case.
The Sunday Business Post quotes stockbroker Collins Stewart as saying that shares in Vodafone, which fell to STG1.10 this week, are worth just STG0.73 per share; around 450,000 Irish shareholders inherited Vodafone shares at around STG2.05 per share. The same paper reports on the launch of indymedia.ie, the Irish affiliate of the global left-wing media organisation whose content is provided by the public, and on a EUR3 million investment by International Investment and Underwriting in Irish firm E-Spatial Solutions.
The same paper reports that storage giant EMC said its voluntary redundancy offer to Irish workers was oversubscribed, and that around 300 staff opted for the package. Details of the EMC global rationalisation package, expected to cut EMC's workforce to 19,000 by the middle of this year, are expected on Thursday.
The paper also reports that Dublin data centre owner Metromedia Fiber Network lost two major customers, Verizon and Genuity, pushing Metromedia closer to bankruptcy. Metromedia's chief executive and chief financial officer both resigned last week.
The Sunday Tribune reports on last week's liquidation of the application service provider E-Host, after the examiner appointed in December did not secure the EUR340,000 investment needed to keep the company afloat.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 