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Vodafone may announce write-offs of up to STG25 billion | Ernst & Young charged with violating rules of Securities and Exchange Commission
The Financial Times reports that Vodafone directors are to discuss on Tuesday whether the mobile phone group should write down the value of large acquisitions. The company is likely to announce write-offs for some of its small, listed businesses, but there is speculation that it may make a much bigger write-down of goodwill, estimated at between STG15 billion and STG25 billion. Vodafone's annual results are due on 28 May.
The FT also reports that Juniper Networks, the world's second-largest maker of equipment for directing Internet traffic, has said that it will buy rival Unisphere Networks, the US unit of Siemens, for about USD740 million in cash and shares. Siemens will receive USD375 million in cash and 36.5 million Juniper shares, based on a closing price last Friday of USD9.85 a share. The companies said the deal would probably dilute Juniper's earnings slightly in 2002 but would be positive in 2003.
The same paper reports that Sony has cut the recommended US price of its in-house software for the PlayStation 2 games console. The company, which is the market leader in the console industry, has recommended to US retailers that they cut the price of its games from USD49 to USD39. The move will put additional pressure on Microsoft and Nintendo, who have just launched their Xbox and GameCube machines respectively and are generating losses on hardware sales.
The FT also reports on Metromedia Fiber Network, which filed for bankruptcy protection on Monday after struggling unsuccessfully for months to meet interest payments on debts totalling USD3.3 billion. The New York-based owner of high-speed communication networks said it had reached an agreement with creditors to continue operations during its reorganisation. Read the full story on ElectricNews.Net's Business section.
The Wall Street Journal says that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged Ernst & Young with violating SEC rules by entering into lucrative business deals with a software company that it also audited. The SEC alleged that Ernst & Young's profit-making marketing agreement with PeopleSoft prevented the accounting firm from serving as an unbiased auditor of the publicly traded company's books.
The WSJ also reports that Microsoft is planning to unveil a new service to make it easier for people to switch from America Online to MSN for Internet service. Microsoft is launching a USD10 million advertising campaign to promote the new "switching" focus, officials said. The software giant is also offering a USD50 rebate for people who sign up for MSN under the new plan and pay for the service for at least three months.
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