UPDATE 4-RIM shares drop after minor board shuffle - Reuters UK
* Dattels is a senior partner at major private equity firm
* Former Telefonica exec not standing for re-election
* New CEO Heins was paid $10.2 mln in last fiscal year
* Shares drop more than 4 pct to near $10 (Adds comment from RIM's chairman; updates share price move)
TORONTO, June 14 (Reuters) - Shares of Research In Motion fell 2.5 percent on Thursday after the struggling BlackBerry maker named a financier to replace a telecom executive on its board, disappointing investors looking for more sweeping changes.
The company, whose share price has tumbled alongside its once-dominant share of the smartphone market, also said it paid its new CEO more than $10 million in the company's last fiscal year and gave him hundreds of thousands of stock options to take the top job in January.
It also revealed millions of dollars in payments to former co-CEO Jim Balsillie, when he parted ways with RIM.
"There may be some tough questions asked or some shareholder backlash if the change at the top is just this," said Sameet Kanade, an analyst at Northern Securities, referring to the announcements, made in a filing ahead of RIM's annual meeting next month.
Kanade said the filing suggested the company was making little progress toward the broad changes investors are seeking.
RIM has lost favor as the email-centric BlackBerry falls behind in a fast-changing smartphone market now dominated by Apple Inc's iPhone and devices using Google Inc's Android software.
Still, the nomination of financier Timothy Dattels to the board could indicate RIM is more seriously considering going private, or mulling a leveraged buyout for the company.
Dattels, a senior partner at private equity firm TPG Capital LP, previously served as Goldman Sachs' head of investment banking for Asia excluding Japan.
He replaces Antonio Viana-Baptista, a former Telefonica SA executive who had been a RIM director since September 2009. RIM said Viana-Baptista opted out so he could spend more time in his role as CEO of Credit Suisse in Iberia.
RIM is proposing the re-election of the remainder of its board at an annual meeting on July 10. It said it would look to add one or more new board members in the current fiscal year.
RIM's Nasdaq-listed shares closed 2.5 percent lower at $10.40 on Thursday. The stock has lost more than 70 percent of its value over the past year.
COMPENSATION ISSUES
The company said Thorsten Heins, who was promoted to chief executive earlier this year, received total compensation of $10.2 million in fiscal 2012, which ended late in March. He received an award of 400,000 restricted stock units, which vest over a three-year period, for taking the top job.
"It didn't excite anyone," Fred Ketchen, director of equity trading at ScotiaMcLeod, said of the filing. "I think the money aspect is a factor" in the stock decline, he said.
A year ago, RIM narrowly avoided a vote of confidence on its management when an investor withdrew a motion to split the CEO and chairman roles after the company promised to study the issue. The roles were shared at the time by Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie.
Some watchers were hoping for more agitation this year.
"It would be nice to see an activist make a play but they would have to believe that it could be fixed and they don't," said Eric Jackson, a fund manager at Ironfire Capital.
Lazaridis and Balsillie stepped down from their roles in January, though Lazaridis remains an influential member of the board, serving as vice-chairman. When Heins took over as CEO in January, board member Barbara Stymiest became chairwoman.
"Over the past six months, the board and Thorsten have been proactively working together to introduce significant changes in the company as we move towards the launch of our next generation BlackBerry platform," said Stymiest in a statement.
"We are actively exploring new partnerships and other opportunities to extend the reach of BlackBerry and enhance long-term value for all RIM stakeholders," she added.
In its filing, RIM said Balsillie was paid $4.8 million in relation to his resignation, while Lazaridis was paid more than $850,000. Both had agreed to cut their base salary to $1 in their last days in the top job.
Balsillie's stock options, which he will be able to access quicker since he left the board in March, takes the total value of his entitlements to $7.9 million. Lazaridis would receive entitlements totaling $3.9 million should he leave the board, and would retain an office, company car and driver.
The smartphone maker, headquartered in Waterloo, Ontario, has warned it expects to post an operating loss in the quarter just ended. Those numbers are due to be released on June 28.
That latest warning follows a stream of lowered earnings forecasts, product delays, writedowns and an embarrassing global network outage that left millions of people without email on their BlackBerry phones for several days.
A string of senior staff have left - including RIM's top salesman and chief lawyer last month - and it has hired bankers for a strategic review that could lead to an overhaul of its business model or less drastic moves such as partnerships and licensing deals. It has not ruled out a sale of the company. (Additional reporting by Euan Rocha and Jon Cook in Toronto; Editing by Frank McGurty)
Global social media survey finds discrepencies between employers' and staff opinions on its use - HRmagazine.co.uk
It's latest Global Workforce Index, found 44% of UK employees feel that social media, such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, is impacting negatively on workplace productivity. However, only 6% of the British workforce has been told to stop using social media at work.
Employers are not making the most use of social media, either as a recruitment tool or as a means of boosting their employer brand.
But the need to harness the potential of social media is clear - one third of employees said they were more likely to use social media than traditional methods to search for jobs, and as many as 30% consider it important that their employer has a social media presence.
The findings, the second in the series from the Kelly Global Workforce Index (KGWI) also revealed 73% of staff feel it is not appropriate to share opinions about work on social media, suggesting people have an automatic tendency to assume these opinions would be negative rather than positive mentions promoting the employer brand.
And more than half of UK employees worry that mixing personal and professional connections through social media could cause problems at work
Andrew Cook, general manager UK and Ireland at Kelly Services, said: "We need to dispel the myth that social media is for leisure time only. If used well, it can be an essential communication tool for your existing workforce to engage with customers and be vital in finding and attracting new talent to your business.
"Equally, boosting employer brands by raising your corporate profile through social media is increasingly important. Most people fear discussions about their current employer could be negative, when in fact your workforce can be your best social brand ambassadors.
"Many companies view social media as inherently risky due to its immediacy and tone, but those employers that are embracing it as part of their recruitment strategy are reaping the rewards."
These are the second findings from the latest, KGWI, an annual survey conducted by Kelly Services. Almost 170,000 people in 30 countries participated in the survey, including more than 3,500 in the UK. The last results were released in April and found that employers across the UK are disengaged, with less than half being currently happy in their job and over a third frequently thinking about quitting.
Portugal - Portugal among Euro 2012 best, says Mourinho - Football
Published: 14 Jun 2012 - 21:17:42
Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho said in an interview published on Thursday that his native Portugal were "one of the two or three best sides" in Euro 2012.
Mourinho, who guided Real to the league title last term ending bitter rivals Barcelona's hold on the trophy, was quoted as saying by the A Bola sports daily: "Portugal don't depend on other teams. They only depend on themselves.
"If they do their job against the Netherlands, they will be in the quarter-final. I think that Portugal are one of the two or three best sides in the competition.
"But that doesn't mean much: everything is decided in 90 minutes, extra-time or penalties," the self-styled "Special One" said. "If Portugal get to the quarter-finals, anything can happen."
Related Portugal News
Hodgson calls for ruthless England - Football
Published: 14 Jun 2012 - 19:19:14
Roy Hodgson urged England to show a ruthless attacking streak here Thursday as they prepared for their Group D meeting with perennial bogey team Sweden.
England have never beaten Sweden in a competitive fixture but head into Friday's Euro 2012 game at the Olympic Stadium as favourites to take all three points following a 1-1 draw with France.
But while England's defensive display against the French on Monday earned plaudits, Hodgson admitted his side will have to present more of an attacking dimension if they want to defeat the Swedes.
England's solitary goal against France came from a set-piece, and clear-cut goalscoring chances from open play were few -- something Hodgson feels England must improve on Friday.
"I was happy with the start. We played quite well, certain aspects of our game were good," Hodgson told a press conference.
"We must maintain that and, if we are going to win matches, we've got to continue to work hard on the attacking side of the game.
"We have to try to make certain when we do get these good counter-attacking opportunities that we maximise them and take advantage to the full.
"When we win the ball back and break out, we've got to make certain the last pass, cross or actual finish is very clinical.
"It is hard to get good goal chances at this level of football. You are not going to get many during the course of a game and you have to be very effective when the chances come your way.
"I am not talking about the clear-cut one versus ones with the goalkeeper but the situations where you've got behind the defence and it's a question of making certain the last pass gives someone the chance to score a goal.
"That is something we've been working on consistently."
Despite his acknowledgement of England's problems in the final third against France, Hodgson bristled when asked if he felt England were technically inferior to other sides. "No, I don't (think that)," he replied bluntly.
"You work with teams to try and get yourself into a position to deliver the right ball and it all depends on how good that delivery or final pass is.
"But I would definitely question any suggestion that we are lacking in any way and our players are not technically good enough," he said.
"The Premier League is regarded quite widely as being a very good league, a very technical league and we have some of the best players playing in it."
Hodgson admitted his side would be wary of the threat posed by a physical Sweden side from set-pieces.
"We all agree in today's football set-pieces are very important and it is rare not to have respect or concern over the quality of the opponents set-plays," he said.
"All you can do is prepare in the best possible way and make it clear to your team what threat the opponents pose.
"France posed a lot of threats from their set-plays and Sweden will be the same."
England captain Steven Gerrard is confident his side will get the win they need if they are able to reproduce the form shown against France.
"With all due respect to Sweden who are a good strong team -- they're not France," he said. "So I think we can be a little bit more bold, a little bit more ambitious and get at the Swedes a bit more.
"We're confident that if we reach the same level of performance it will be good enough to get the victory."
Related England News
Disarray in Sangh Parivar - Deccan Herald
Ex-RSS chief Sudarshan eulogises Jinnah commitment
The ideological disarray and divide appear to be evident not only in the BJP but also in the extended Sangh Parivar.
While the political arm — the BJP — is already reeling under repeated mutinies, the mother organisation — the RSS — seems to be on the crossroads with former RSS chief S Sudarshan on Tuesday asserting that Pakistan founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah was committed to an undivided India. The shocker from Sudarshan, who paved the way for Mohan Bhagwat on March 21 this year, has raised eyebrows within the Nagpur outfit, let alone the BJP.
On being asked if he regarded Jinnah as secular, the former RSS head said in Nagpur: “Jinnah had many facets. He was once associated with Lokmanya Tilak and was totally committed to an undivided India.
“When Gandhiji started the Khilafat movement, Jinnah had opposed it, saying that if the Caliph i
n Turkey had been dethroned, what had India got to do with that. At that time, nobody listened to him, which saddened him. So he quit the Congress and left for England. After returning in 1927, the Britons brainwashed him and prompted him to put forth the demand for a separate state of Pakistan for Muslims.”
Sudarshan said had Gandhiji been adamant, Partition would not have taken place. “But he was not for it because Nehru was his weakness.”
On whether the Sangh had taken a tough stand during his leadership when L K Advani made the “Jinnah is secular” comment, Sudarshan said he had given clarifications on the matter. Asked if he was satisfied with the clarification, he answered in the affirmative.
Misinterpretation
RSS leader Ram Madhav on Tuesday said the former RSS chief’s views were misinterpreted and what Sudarshan had meant was that at one point of time, Jinnah had supported an undivided India.
Madhav said Sudarshan had also spoken about how Jinnah had been one of the main causes of Partition.
Meanwhile, shaken by Shourie’s description of BJP president Rajnath Singh as “Alice in Blunderland” and the blistering public criticism of its “rudderless functioning”, the party on Tuesday asked Shourie to explain his conduct.
After contemplating an immediate suspension of Shourie, the party sought to revise its views and thought it fit to wait until Shourie submitted his written explanation.
Shourie on Tuesday night said he would give a clarification, and that his ties with the party had not snapped. “If there is any ambiguity and the party president and others have asked for clarification, I will clarify. There is no problem,” Shourie told reporters. The BJP Parliamentary Board is likely to meet this week to decide on Shourie’s fate, according to sources.
In a no-holds-barred attack on the party president and senior leader L K Advani, Shourie on Monday demanded the sacking of the entire top rung of the party. “They behave like Humpty-Dumpty. The BJP, under their charge, has become a ‘kati patang,’” he said and called for handing over the reins of the party to regional satraps.
RSS view
Meanwhile, Rajnath Singh on Tuesday met Bhagwat to discuss the issue. The Sangh has not completely rejected Shourie’s criticism and has in fact expressed its agreement with some of his bold propositions.
RSS national executive member Ram Madhav said it was for the BJP to take control of the situation. Asked about the RSS’s role in the BJP, he said “some of our friends are there” and that they would look after the best interest of the organisation.
Barlow tops 2012 celebrity dad poll (From Bournemouth Echo) - Daily Echo
Barlow tops 2012 celebrity dad poll
7:02pm Thursday 14th June 2012 in National Entertainment News © Press Association 2011
Gary Barlow really is top of the pops - after being named celebrity dad of the year.
The Take That star, who is also number one in the singles chart, collected the prize ahead of the birth of his fourth child.
He pipped reigning champion Peter Andre to the title, which is officially called the Premier Inn Celebrity Dad Of The Year 2012.
It comes just days after he organised the Queen's spectacular Diamond Jubilee concert outside Buckingham Palace and his track Sing, written for the jubilee, is the current chart-topper.
It is the first time Gary has won the accolade and earlier this year he posted a message on Twitter telling Andre to "stand aside".
Gary, 41, was chosen in a public vote. The X Factor panellist said winning the award felt "amazing".
"I've been waiting for it for a long time," he said. "My kids are really excited and I don't think they can quite believe it. Being a dad is a really important part of my life and it means a lot to have won this award."
Barlow already has children Daniel, Emily, Daisy and his wife Dawn is expecting another girl.
Also in the running for this year's award were rapper Jay-Z, footballer Cristiano Ronaldo and Prime Minister David Cameron, who recently left his daughter at a country pub by mistake. The award is supposed the ability to balance public life with the demands of parenting.
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