WIRE REPORTS

Dell Initiates Legal Action Zacks.com The five companies named in the lawsuit include Sharp Corporation, Toshiba Corporation, Hitachi Ltd., Japan's Seiko Epson, and Taiwan 's HannStar. ... and more » Smartphones - A Global Strategic Business Report - new market report released PR-inside.com (press release) ... Inc., Panasonic Corporation, Research In Motion Limited, Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., Sharp Corporation, and Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB. ... and more » Sharp targets 20pc growth in 2010 Trade Arabia Sharp Middle East, the fully owned regional subsidiary of Sharp Corporation Japan, has unveiled a strategy to grow its business solutions products segment ... and more » Panasonic's Groundbreaking Full HD 3D Home Entertainment System Now ... PR Newswire (press release) ... Ltd., Sharp Corporation, Sony Corporation, Sun Microsystems, Inc., TDK Corporation, Thomson, Twentieth Century Fox, Walt Disney Pictures and Television, ... and more » Taiwan-based TFT-LCD producer agrees to US$200 million fine for cartel ... Lexology (registration) Ltd. (US$400 million), Sharp Corporation (US$120 million), Chunghwa Picture Tubes Ltd. (US$65 million), Hitachi Displays Ltd. (US$31 million) and Epson ... and more » Brazil – SDE initiates investigation into LCD-TFT cartel Lexology (registration) ... Chungwa Picture Tubes, Hitachi Displays, LG Display, Samsung Electronics Corporation, Sharp Corporation and Epson Imaging Devices Corporation. ... Reportlinker Adds Global Smartphones Industry IT News Online ... Inc., Panasonic Corporation, Research In Motion Limited, Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., Sharp Corporation, and Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB. ... and more » Sharp targets 20% growth in business solutions products in the Middle East in 2010 istockAnalyst.com (press release) (Source: Middle East Company News)Sharp Middle East FZE (SMEF), the fully owned regional subsidiary of Sharp Corporation Japan, has unveiled a strategy to ... and more » TopNews Verizon Wireless to bring Microsoft Phones TopNews Sharp Corporation will manufacture the phone and the model will carry both the Microsoft and Verizon Wireless brands. Official announcement have yet to come ... and more » Pioneer Announces Completion of International Share Offering and Change in ... TMCnet Outline of Major Shareholder to Which the Change Relates (1) Trade name: Sharp Corporation (2) Location: 22-22, Nagaike-cho, Abeno-ku, Osaka, ... and more »

DAILY REPORTS

Mar 16 Part of woman's torso washes up on island in Fukuoka The lower half of a woman's torso was found on a beach on an island in Fukuoka on Monday, sparking a police investigation. Police said a local resident digging for clams found the unclothed lower body part on a beach on Nokonoshima Island at about 3:15 p.m. on Monday. The body appeared to have been severed with a sharp blade and police suspect the corpse may have been chopped up into pieces. They are trying to identify the victim. (Mainichi) Mar 12 Consumer product makers hope ions generate skin-care buzz Claiming their air-purifying ion technologies can also increase moisture in the skin, consumer product makers are keen to spread the news to aging-conscious women. Several years ago, Sharp Corp. and Panasonic Corp. began selling ion-emitting devices they say help neutralize nasty airborne particles, including viruses and allergens. The companies have also put the new technologies--"Plasmacluster ion" from Sharp and "nanoe" from Panasonic--in air conditioners, refrigerators and other products. (Asahi) Mar 11 High court rules 2009 general election constitutional The Tokyo High Court on Thursday declared last year's general election constitutional despite a sharp disparity in the value of each vote between constituencies, ruling differently from four other high court panels that ruled it unconstitutional or close to unconstitutional. Presiding Judge Tatsuki Inada also turned down a suit filed by two voters in Tokyo and one in neighboring Kanagawa Prefecture who sought a court decision to make the election results in their single-seat constituencies invalid. (AP) Mar 8 Corporate failures fall for 7th month in Feb. with debts sharply down The number of corporate bankruptcies in February dropped 17.29 percent from a year earlier to 1,090 for the seventh consecutive month of year-on-year decline, with debts left by the failed firms falling sharply, a credit research firm said Monday. Liabilities accompanying the corporate failures plummeted 64.29 percent to 438.83 billion yen as credit became more readily available for companies due to government stimulus measures and a new law that came into force late last year to help out smaller firms, Tokyo Shoko Research said. (AP) Mar 3 Workers' wages post 1st rise in 20 months in Jan. Average monthly wages at Japanese companies with at least five employees edged up 0.1 percent in January from a year before to 273,142 yen, marking the first increase in one year and eight months since May 2008, a labor ministry monthly report showed Wednesday. The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry attributed the increase to an upswing in overtime pay, which slumped sharply in January 2009 amid the global financial crisis following the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. in September 2008. (AP) Feb 28 Digital camera firms struggling to stand out Taking crystal-clear photos is no longer enough to stand out from the pack in a crowded digital camera market. With the spring selling season just around the corner, manufacturers have been adding new functions to their cameras to win over customers and, they hope, put a brake on sliding prices. Fierce competition pushed manufacturers to improve photo sharpness and clarity to the point where it is now common even for compact models to take photographs with resolutions of up to 10 megapixels. (Yomiuri) Feb 24 Asian nations pay in yen, helping Japan's exports The unexpectedly sharp rise in Japanese exports in January despite a still-strong yen reflects a notable development in the country's trade: More shipments are heading to thriving Asian markets and being paid for in yen, buffering Japanese exporters from the currency's strength. Over the past decade, Japanese manufacturers have steadily built up more subsidiaries for overseas production in Asia than in other regions, making it easier for them to denominate transactions in yen for the bulk of their exports to these companies. (Wall Street Journal) Feb 24 Tokyo stocks fall as strong yen, U.S. consumer unease hit exporters Tokyo stocks tumbled Wednesday, led by losses in exporter shares such as electronics makers brought on by a stronger yen, with investor sentiment dampened on a sharp fall in U.S. consumer confidence. While losses were slightly trimmed from the day's low, the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average ended down 153.27 points, or 1.48 percent, from Tuesday to 10,198.83. (AP) Feb 23 Japan stocks down as yen rises, investors await Toyota testimony Japanese stocks retreated Tuesday as investors locked in profits from the previous day's big gains and waited to see how Toyota Motor Corp. executives fare under questioning by U.S. lawmakers. The benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average slipped 48.37 points, or 0.5 percent, to 10,352.10. On Monday, the index rose 2.7 percent in its sharpest climb in 11 weeks. (canadianbusiness.com) Feb 18 Tokyo stocks edge up in directionless trading as profit-taking weighs Tokyo stocks inched higher Thursday in directionless trading, with financial shares such as consumer lenders and banks advancing, but gains were capped by profit-taking after the previous day's sharp rise. Drifting in and out of negative territory, the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average closed up 28.86 points, or 0.28 percent, from Wednesday at 10,335.69. (AP) Feb 16 Lawsuits against Toyota increase sharply in U.S. Following Toyota Motor Corp.'s massive recall of its vehicles, there has been a steep increase in the number of lawsuits filed against the automaker in the United States, with suits seeking damages for injury or for the depreciated value of the recalled Toyota vehicles. As of Sunday, the number of lawsuits had reached nearly 60. As it is common for courts in the United States to order hefty sums of compensation, the latest development may pose a serious threat to Toyota. (Yomiuri) Feb 13 Olympics: Snowboarder Kokubo barred from Games opening ceremony over dress code Seiko Hashimoto, the head of Japan's Vancouver Winter Olympic delegation, said Friday snowboarder Kazuhiro Kokubo will be barred from the opening ceremony of the Games for flouting the Olympic dress code. The dreadlocked 21-year-old drew sharp criticism for the way he wore Japan's official Olympic uniform when he traveled with the snowboard team to Vancouver and was not allowed to attend an arrival ceremony at the Olympic athletes' village on Wednesday. (AP) Feb 10 Japan's 2009 core machinery orders drop sharpest ever 26.9% Japan's core private-sector machinery orders fell by a sharpest ever seasonally adjusted 26.9 percent in 2009 from the previous year, adding to signs of weakness in corporate capital spending amid the global economic downturn, government data showed Wednesday. The core orders, which exclude volatile ones such as those for ships and from electric utilities, stood at 8.48 trillion yen for the 12 months through December, the lowest among comparable data available since 1988. (AP) Feb 9 Mobile phone shipments in Japan slip under 40 mil. units in 2009 Mobile phone shipments in Japan plunged 25.5 percent in 2009 from a year earlier to 31.30 million units, slipping below 40 million units for the first time in 10 years, an industry body said Tuesday. The rate of year-on-year decline was the sharpest on record, according to data released by the Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association. (AP) Feb 9 Panasonic to launch 3D plasma TV in Japan April 23 Japan's Panasonic Corp said on Tuesday it plans to launch 3D televisions on April 23 in Japan. The company said last month it would launch 3D TVs in the United States in the spring. Top consumer electronics makers including Panasonic and Sony Corp are launching 3D TVs this year as they seek to offer differentiating products that will be shielded from the sharp price falls plaguing the conventional flat TV market. (Reuters) Feb 8 Nikkei closes below 10,000 line for 1st time since Dec. 10 Tokyo stocks fell sharply Monday, with the key Nikkei index closing below the 10,000 line for the first time since Dec. 10, as exporters were badly hit by a stronger yen relative to the U.S. dollar and euro. The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average fell 105.27 points, or 1.05 percent, from Friday to 9,951.82. The last time the Nikkei ended below the 10,000 threshold was Dec. 10 when it fell to 9,862.82. (AP) Feb 5 Nikkei tumbles to 2-month closing low on stronger yen, flight from risk The key Nikkei stock index fell almost 3 percent Friday to its lowest close this year and barely hung above the 10,000 line, hurt by a sharply stronger yen while investors fled from risky assets amid disappointing U.S. jobs data and escalating debt jitters in Europe. The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average closed at 10,057.09, down 298.89 points or 2.89 percent, to its lowest since Dec. 10. (AP) Feb 3 Sharp records ¥9.1 billion profit Sharp Corp. said Wednesday it booked its second straight profitable quarter in October-December, its cost-cutting efforts bringing it back from large losses even as sales of flat-screen TVs and other products stayed flat. Sharp booked a net profit of ¥9.1 billion during its third quarter, after a ¥65.8 billion loss a year earlier. The turnaround came despite a tepid uptick in sales, to ¥735.3 billion from ¥735.1 billion. (Japan Times) Feb 3 Tokyo stocks rise but gains capped as Toyota, Fast Retailing weigh Tokyo stocks rose Wednesday on strong U.S. earnings and resource- linked advances on higher commodity prices, but overall gains were capped by sharp losses in major blue chips such as Fast Retailing and Toyota Motor. After brief dips into negative territory, the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average closed up 33.24 points, or 0.32 percent, from Tuesday to 10,404.33. (AP) Jan 26 Nikkei falls to 5-wk closing low on stronger yen, weak Asian shares Tokyo stocks failed to sustain early gains and closed sharply lower Tuesday, with the key Nikkei index falling to a five-week closing low as a stronger yen versus the U.S. dollar and declines in almost all Asian equities weighed on investor sentiment. The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average fell 187.41 points, or 1.78 percent, from Monday to 10,325.28, marking the lowest closing level since Dec. 21. (AP) Jan 20 Bright global demand for LED bulbs With global demand projected to grow for energy-saving bulbs made of light-emitting diodes (LEDs), consumer appliance makers Toshiba Corp. and Sharp Corp. see a bright future. Demand for LED bulbs is expected to soar as prices fall and environmental awareness rises, makers say. Toshiba's first targets will be in Europe and North America, where there are legions of environmentally conscious consumers. (Asahi) Jan 12 Horse racing: 9-horse spill in horse race in Japan A chain-reaction, nine-horse spill during a race in Japan has left one jockey injured. Japanese rider Hiroyuki Uchida broke his left arm after the leading horse veered in at a sharp angle. He and eight other jockeys were thrown from their horses, one after another. The spill occurred in the fourth race Monday at Nakayama Racecourse outside Tokyo. Uchida was aboard Lilac Punch in the 16-horse race. (AP) Jan 9 Police pursue leads in Little Tokyo hotel manager's slaying Japanese tourist Kazuki Okabe arrived in Los Angeles this week hoping to go sightseeing and backpacking in Southern California. Instead, he said he stumbled onto the bleeding body of a Little Tokyo hotel manager Tuesday morning in what was to become the first slaying in downtown Los Angeles in 2010. The 27-year-old tourist said the woman had been slashed from her chin to the side of her neck with a sharp instrument, but she was still conscious enough to whisper a request for him to call 911. She later died at a hospital. (Los Angeles Times) Jan 6 Sharp to produce solar cells in Italy Sharp Corp. will set up a joint venture to produce thin-film solar cells in Italy and also build large solar power plants in Mediterranean countries. The joint venture will begin operations in early 2011 and supply solar cells capable of generating 160 megawatts of electricity a year, enough for 40,000 households, officials said Monday. (Asahi) Jan 5 Tokyo stocks edge up on economy hopes but stronger yen trims gains Tokyo stocks edged higher Tuesday on bolstered global economic recovery confidence, although initial sharp gains which briefly took the key Nikkei index to a 15-month intraday high were mostly erased by a rapidly strengthening yen. After hitting a high of 10,791.04 in the early afternoon, the 225- issue Nikkei Stock Average rapidly lost steam to close at 10,681.83, up 27.04 points or 0.25 percent from Monday to barely renew its highest finish since Oct. 3, 2008. (AP) [ More... ]