Iridium, the first company to enter global satellite communication business with hand-held telephones last year, is in financial trouble, says `Skyreport, published from the US. "It's certain that Iridium won't meet terms of its $800 million credit facility, which requires the satphone company to have 27,000 subscribers this month," the report said. The deadline for the bank loan requirements is May 31. According to the report, Iridium is still talking with lenders about ways to avoid default. News that Iridium will default on bank loans follows the departure of the company's chief executive and financial officer. Iridium's shares have fallen 80 per cent in the last year, and the company faces numerous lawsuits from shareholders over its predicament, the report says.

SAS Institute appoints new GCD head

SAS Institute India has appointed Vivek Gokarn as the head-global consulting operations for its global consulting division (GCD). Gokarn will beresponsible for the overall business, marketing, project execution and training requirements of the new division.

Microsoft's training course

Singapore high commissioner to India Wong Kwok Pun on Monday inaugurated the Microsoft training course at the recently launched Edutech Informatics' `centre for excellence' in the Capital. The centre is in keeping with the company's vision of setting up a strategic chain of Informatics centre of excellences across Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Chennai, Bangalore and Calcutta.

Computer Reseller Newas set for India launch

Computer Reseller News (CRN), the largest selling IT channel magazine in the US, will be launched in India this week. Jasubhai Digital Media, part of the $50 million Jasubhai Group, has tied up with CMP Media Inc., a high-technology media company, to bring the magazine to the country.H-P reports 34% jump in net

The Hewlett-Packard computer technology company on Monday reported a 34 per cent increase in second quarter netearnings to $918 million compared with the same period last year. Earnings per share were 88 cents, up from 65 cents in the second quarter of the company's 1999 fiscal year and beating market expectations by eight cents. Net revenue rose from $12 billion to $12.4 billion, with gains reported in the US and Europe. Sales in the Asia-Pacific region fell three per cent while those in Canada and Latin America combined were flat.

H-P launches enterprise storage solution

Hewlett-Packard on Tuesday unveiled its `HP Surestore E' brand of enterprise storage solutions. The new solutions, launched in India through its Indian arm - H-P India, "addresses demand for utility class information storage that provides deployment flexibility, round-the-clock uptime, massive scalability and centralised management," H-P worldwide product marketing manager Michael A Reynolds told newsmen in Mumbai.