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A European court on Tuesday rejected a request from Intel to postpone a deadline in the European Commission’s antitrust proceedings against the company. The Court of First Instance in Luxembourg also rejected a request to allow Intel to access certain documents from Advanced Micro Devices that it said it needed in order to file a response in the antitrust case. Failure by Intel to delay the case clears the way for the Commission to issue its long-awaited ruling. The Commission has charged Intel with anticompetitive behavior in the market for x86 microprocessors by allegedly offering rebates and selling chips below cost to PC makers and retail stores. The investigation began in 2000 when AMD filed a complaint against Intel with the Commission.
A union that is trying to organize workers at IBM is reporting that the company cut more than 2,800 jobs recently, but an IBM spokesman would only confirm that some layoffs have occurred. IBM eliminated 1,419 positions in its software group and 1,449 sales and distribution jobs, according to the Alliance at IBM/CWA Local 1701’s Web site. The site has been ablaze for weeks with comments from individuals who say they have been laid off or are concerned about their status. IBM began notifying affected employees last week, said spokesman Doug Shelton. He declined to provide any information about the number of employees affected, where they were stationed or the business units involved.
Tokyo Electric Power is increasing its investment in solar energy with plans to build a 10-megawatt solar plant near Tokyo. Details of the price of the project and supplier of the solar panels were not announced. Several Japanese companies are working to become leaders in the solar-power-generation field, and contracts from domestic utilities like TEPCO are likely to provide a big push toward their goal of securing a sizable portion of the global market. Last year Sharp said it would install a 9-megawatt generating facility on the roof of a new factory it is building in western Japan. The facility will be operated with Kansai Electric Power.
The board of Satyam Computer Services has appointed The Boston Consulting Group as management advisor, and Goldman Sachs and Avendus, an Indian investment bank, as investment bankers to advise the company on various strategic options, including bringing in a large investor in the company. The board said in a statement late Tuesday that it had received proposals from companies and private equity firms, some of which are interested in Satyam as one integrated entity, while others are keen on “portions” of Satyam’s business. Satyam slipped into crisis earlier this month after the company’s founder, B. Ramalinga Raju, stated that the company had inflated profit for several years.
…And those are the top stories from the IDG Global IT News Update, brought to you by the IDG News Service. I’m Sumner Lemon in Singapore. Join us again later for more news from the world of technology.
