INTEL TO DECIDE NEXT MONTH WHERE TO BUILD NEW FACTORY - Intel will make a decision next month on where to build a factory for its next generation of microprocessors, according to the general manager of its operations in Israel, says the Irish Times. Maxine Fassberg said Israel and Ireland will be two of the main locations competing for the 22-nanometer plant. The new technology allows even more chips to be created on a single wafer during the manufacturing process. The last major investment won by Intel's plant in Leixlip was the $2 billion that went into the Fab24-2 factory, announced in May 2004. That facility runs 65 nanometre process technology. Last summer Intel's Irish operations cut almost 300 jobs with the decision to mothball one of its older facilities - Fab14 - and make it available for new investments by its US parent. Intel is negotiating with Israel for a grant to expand its Fab 28 plant in Kiryat Gat to include 22-nanometer technology, an upgrade that will cost $2.7 billion dollars, Ms Fassberg said. "We must prove that we are competitive in the grants and benefits that Intel gets from other countries in the world," Ms Fassberg said, citing Ireland, which offers a low corporate tax rate, as a top rival. She said Intel will decide in mid-March where to put the 22-nanometer plant. The new technology will be used in future chips from Intel which will hit the market in the second half of 2011.
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FEAR FOR JOBS AS BANK OF SCOTLAND ABOUT TO MAKE KEY IRISH DECISION - Bank of Scotland (Ireland) is understood to be preparing a major announcement on its future in Ireland, prompting fresh fears about the security of its 1600-strong workforce, writes the Irish Independent. The bank, which is owned by Lloyds banking group, had planned to announce a dramatic retrenchment last summer but went back to the drawing board after chief executive Joe Higgins told staff of an "unspecified significant development" forcing it to alter its plans. Fears are now growing that an announcement about the bank's future could come as soon as tomorrow. A leading union said yesterday the bank could hive off almost half of its €33.4 billion loan book into a 'third force' merger of Irish lenders. It argues that its inclusion would give the new entity a crucial business lending dimension. This would leave BoSI's parent Lloyds Banking Group in charge of running down the remainder of the group's portfolio, dominated by property development loans. Trade union, Unite, commissioned FGS Consulting to look into how BoSI could evaluate how it could best position itself to participate in sector consolidation - at a time when EBS and Irish Nationwide are already in tie-up talks and Permanent TSB expects to be invited into the fold later in the year.
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€120m GREENCORE MALT DEAL STALLS - The sale of Greencore Malt to the Soufflet group of France has stalled and the €120 million deal is understood to have collapsed, says the Irish Examiner. Greencore, the convenience food group with major operations in Britain and Europe and an expanding business in the US was hoping to sell the malting business this year to give it a clear focus on its core convenience food business. In recent months Groupe Soufflet of France emerged as the main contender to buy the business. It is a major player in the European malting business and access to Greencore Malt's seven operations across Europe would have extended its reach in areas it lacked a presence, particularly in the British market, where the Irish group is strong. The Irish Examiner understands that a number of factors have prevented the French group from going ahead with the deal. One of the major factors which Greencore previously alluded to was the state of the malting market, hard hit by the global downturn and the resulting fall off in alcohol consumption.
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GOOGLE SPLASHES OUT $5m ON SUPER BOWL ADVERT - Google's aversion to advertising its search engine on TV ended with a bang on Sunday night as the company paid an estimated $5m to run a commercial during the Super Bowl, says the Guardian. The minute-long spot marks the biggest venture into mainstream advertising for a company that has become notorious growing almost exclusively through word of mouth and online exposure. Indeed, the move is such a remarkable turnaround for the internet giant that it even moved chief executive Eric Schmidt to publish a rare message on Twitter, in which he claimed "someone said 'Hell has indeed frozen over'". Google's "Parisian Love" commercial, which featured a variety of plugs for the company's search engine played out as a virtual love story, was aired during the game's third quarter and lasted a full minute. As one of the world's most-viewed TV events, the Super Bowl is a opportunity for advertisers to reach huge audiences in one swoop - and a notorious cash cow for the NFL. With companies charged around $2.5m for a 30 second spot last year's game, which lasted just over three and a half hours, made $213m from advertising alone.
