Rooney quits Baltimore as price slumps
All the papers
report the resignation of Fran Rooney, the chief executive of
Baltimore Technologies, the Internet security software company. The
Guardian recalls that the resignation comes less than a week after
Rooney said, "the last thing I would do is walk away from this
challenge." The move comes after two profit warnings and a major
restructuring programme. Rooney, who owns 6.7 million shares in the
business, will be replaced as chief executive by Paul Sanders, the
finance director.
Judge eases Bulger risk for web firms
The Financial
Times is alone in not giving prominence to the judge who ruled that
Internet Service Providers cannot be held responsible if pictures
of James Bulger's killers appear on the web, as long as they have
taken "all reasonable steps" to avoid publication. The court action
was brought by Demon, which feared being held in contempt of court
if the pictures appeared.
Marconi faces strike and legal action
All the papers
report that Marconi workers have threatened to strike, while the
shareholders have launched a legal action over the company's recent
profit warning. Some 500 of the 1,600 job losses in the UK are to
come in Coventry and Liverpool with another 115 in Chelmsford,
Cambridge and Nottingham. The legal threat comes in a class action
that is being launched by US investors over the profits
warning.
Orbital loses chief executive after profit warning
The
Financial Times and Daily Telegraph report that Orbital Software,
the Internet company, has lost its chief executive and issued a
profit warning. The Financial Times reports that Kevin Dorren, the
co-founder and chief executive, resigned after a trading statement
revealed a fall in sales during the first quarter. Sales dropped to
just £140,000 compared to £402,000 in the preceding three
months.
Surfcontrol issues upbeat statement
The Financial Times
and Times report that Surfcontrol, which provides software to
monitor and filter Internet use, issued an upbeat trading
statement. The fact that an upbeat statement gains such coverage is
really a reflection of how dire the news is at the moment in the
technology sector - anything that is not doom and gloom is good
news.
Hutchinson signs Motorola deal
The Financial Times and
Times report that Motorola, the US telecommunications and
semiconductor group, has signed a $700m deal with Hong Kong's
Hutchinson Whampoa to supply 3G wireless devices. Motorola expects
to be delivering 3G handsets in the third quarter of 2002.
Best of the rest
The Financial Times reports:
Compaq sales for the second
quarter were lower than expected and the company will be taking a
$490m extraordinary charge.
John Malone, the veteran media investor, has resigned from the
board of AT&T after the company shrugged aside a $41bn bid from
cable operator Comcast.
Terence Chapman, the IT consultancy that specialises in financial
software integration, issued a profits warning and announced that
it is cutting 10% of its workforce.