An acrimonious struggle between China's leading Internet portal, Sina.com, and its founding CEO, Wang Zhidong, deepened on Wednesday when the company declared Wang had been terminated from all his positions.
Wang told a news conference Tuesday that he was "utterly shocked and confused" by a sequence of events this month that culminated with Sina (SINA) saying he had resigned for "personal reasons."
Wang insisted he had been forced out and questioned the legality of the board's move. A terse statement posted on Sina.com's website on Wednesday said the board had unanimously decided to terminate Wang as president, chief executive officer and board member.
It said that, as previously announced, Daniel Mao had been appointed CEO and board member and that Wang Yan was the new president.
Adding to the confusion, Wang Zhidong has said he retains majority ownership of the company which supplies Sina.com with its content.
China bars foreign investment in Internet content providers, so portals such as Sina.com were forced to spin off content production from other parts of their businesses to gain overseas listings.
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Rising rates: EarthLink (ELNK), said it was raising the monthly price of its basic, unlimited dial-up service by $2 to $21.95, a month after rival America Online (AOL) raised its rates.
It is the first rate increase for Earthlink.
The new rate goes into effect on July 2 for new subscribers and on August 1 for most of the company's 3.1 million existing customers.
Shares of EarthLink rose 6 percent, or 72 cents, to $12.99 on Nasdaq. Its shares have climbed more than 130 percent year to date, outperforming most Internet stocks, but still down more than 9 percent from year-earlier levels.
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Microsoft's chosen: Level 3 (LVLT) said it won a three-year contract to provide Internet access service for Microsoft's MSN services in North America, making it one of Microsoft's (MSFT) primarily broadband service providers.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Level 3 will provide Internet access for six properties in the MSN network of Internet services, including MSN Hotmail and MSN Messenger.
Initially, MSN will route about 3 gigabits per second of traffic over Level 3's network. It will have the option to use Level 3 for its total 10 gigabits of traffic in the future.
"As we work with them to meet their rising needs for more bandwidth to serve their growing user base, we believe we will see significant traffic and revenue growth," said Neil Hobbs, a Level 3 group vice president.
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Shock-resistant, wireless PC: Matsushita Electric (MC) said it will launch a shock-resistant personal computer that can send data wirelessly to its notebook-sized display at a distance of up to 164 ft.
The Panasonic Pronote AirFG can be used in damp and dusty environments like construction sites and industrial plants, said Matsushita, which manufactures under the Panasonic and National brands.
"It can be used in harsh environments where the use of PCs has previously been restricted," said Yoshio Ito, director at Matsushita's marketing center, at a news conference.
Demand for shock-resistant PCs for business use is strong, particularly in North America, he said.
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New chip-making technology: Nikon said it would begin taking orders next spring for a new stepper incorporating next generation chip-making technology.
Nikon said the stepper, which includes an argon-fluoride excimer laser, will support production of semiconductors with 0.10-micron design rules.
Many chipmakers, including Intel (INTC), a major Nikon customer, are preparing to shift their operations from 0.18 micron to 0.13 micron design rules, as chip technology continues its long march to ever-more intricate circuitry.
Nikon also said the stepper was capable of throughput of 85 wafers per hour for 300mm wafers, a 10 percent improvement over previous Nikon systems. Many chipmakers are moving to 300mm wafers, which yield more than twice as many chips per wafer and thus cut costs compared with the currently prevalent 200 mm variety.
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__New top dog at Bear Sterns: __ Bear Stearns (BSC) said that CEO James Cayne has taken over as chairman from Alan "Ace" Greenberg.
Greenberg, 73, is staying on as chairman of the company's executive committee. He joined the firm in 1949, served as chief executive from 1978 to 1993 and became chairman in 1985.
Cayne, 67 and a 32-year veteran of the firm, relinquished his post as president.
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Milestone: China Unicom (CHU), the country's second largest mobile phone carrier, said the number of its subscribers had reached 20 milion, including 4.99 million pre-paid users and 15.01 million post-paid users.
Reuters and AP contributed to this report
