ROUNDUPS
In the papers 23 April
23-04-2002
by Paula Mythen
RTE and TV3 go live in Ireland on the Sky satellite television service | STMicroelectronics revenues fall by 29 percent
The Irish Times reports that Irish subscribers to the Sky satellite TV platform will be able to receive terrestrial channels from Tuesday, in a move that could enable BSkyB to claim 25 percent of the TV market here. About 230,000 Irish households, which have signed up to Sky's basic package at EUR19 per month, may tune into RTE, Network 2, TG4 and TV3 in the Republic for the first time using their satellite dish.
The paper also reports that Iona Technologies has confirmed that its board was discussing the role of its non-executive director and founder, Annrai O'Toole, who now has his own company Cape Clear. The issue of O'Toole has come into the spotlight after Iona launched legal proceedings against Bob Wahmlsey, one of its former executives who left the firm to become chief operating officer of Cape Clear.
The Irish Independent reports that Bill Gates took the stand on Monday in Microsoft's antitrust case in the US, testifying the penalties being sought by nine states would undermine the Windows software. In written testimony submitted after he was sworn in, Gates also argued the penalties the states have sought would give Microsoft's competitors an unfair advantage.
The paper also reports that Vodafone shares fell by 4.69 percent to STG111.75 on Tuesday as concerns about WorldCom and Ericsson took their toll on the telecoms sector worldwide.
Finally the Independent reports that the administrators of British pay-TV firm ITV Digital put it up for sale on Monday after failing to reach a deal with its biggest creditor, the English Football League, in a dispute over match broadcast rights.
The Financial Times reports that Electronics Data Systems, the world's second largest information technology services company, on Monday said customer deferrals caused it to report lower-than-expected revenues in its first quarter, although it met consensus earnings estimates. Profits grew 14 percent and revenues climbed five percent to USD5.34 billion compared with the year-ago period. However, the sales did fall below the USD5.7 billion expected by Wall Street. The company earned USD0.72 per share compared with USD0.63 in the year-ago quarter.
The same paper reports that STMicroelectronics, the largest European chipmaker, on Monday said that revenues in its current quarter would rise 10 percent following a 29 percent drop in revenues for its most recent quarter. Total revenues in the first quarter were USD1.36 billion, a six percent sequential decline, compared with USD1.92 billion in the year-ago period as the company suffered from a steep drop in global chip demand. Gross profit was USD452 million, down 33.4 percent compared with USD855.8 million a year ago.
The Wall Street Journal reports that the Nasdaq Stock Market halted trading Monday in Applied Digital Solutions Inc., saying it sought "additional information" from the small company whose shares were among the most heavily-traded last week. Applied Digital has captured investors' attention recently with its plans to market a rice-sized chip that it says that can be embedded under people's skin and used to carry such things as medical information. The company issued a news release before U.S. stock trading began Monday, saying the first commercial implant of its technology in a person will be on 10 May. More than 13 million shares had changed hands, making it a more-actively traded issue than such companies as Microsoft and Oracle.
The paper also reports that Intel said it placed the first order for equipment that uses a new technology for drawing lines of circuitry on semiconductor chips. The technology, called extreme ultraviolet lithography, or EUV, uses light with a wavelength that is one-tenth the size of existing equipment, and is believed to be critical in continuing to shrink chip circuitry to boost power and data-storage capacity. Intel is placing the order with ASML Holding NV, a Dutch maker of semiconductor-manufacturing equipment.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 