WIRE REPORTS

The Weekend: Sister Sledge, Sony Music, Madonna, Tiesto, Spotify, Facebook ... Digital Music News The music stats were shared in a broader financial review by Sony Corp. I'm worth it, goddamit. Think that $300 is a lot for a Madonna show? "So start saving your pennies now," Madonna told Newsweek. "People spend $300 on crazy things all the time, ... and more » Mainichi Daily News 8 major electronics firms forecast earnings deterioration for FY 2011 Mainichi Daily News Sony Corp. also enlarged its net loss projection to 220 billion yen. While that is less than its loss of 259.59 billion yen the previous year, it is also Sony's fourth straight annual loss. Panasonic employees at their headoffice entrance in Tokyo. and more » Mainichi Daily News FOCUS: Japan's manufacturing industry faces grim prospects Mainichi Daily News Sony Corp. now makes more than 70 percent of its products abroad, turning out television sets in Malaysia and China and digital cameras mainly in Thailand. Electronics firms are shifting manufacturing offshore in the absence of new business ... and more » IBNLive.com Anonymous publishes FBI call on hacking IBNLive.com Anonymous and fellow group LulzSec have carried out a number of high-profile hacking actions against companies and institutions across the globe including the Central Intelligence Agency, Britain's Serious Organized Crime Agency, Japan's Sony Corp and ... and more » New Sony CEO to confront scale of turnaround task Pakistan Observer Tokyo?The incoming chief of Japan's Sony Corp will confront the enormity of his task to turn around the business, when the humbled electronics icon is expected to show it is headed for its fourth straight annual loss. Kazuo Hirai, the Sony veteran who ... and more » THQ shares drop 30% after analyst cites a 'liquidity crisis' Los Angeles Times s Xbox 360 and Sony Corp.'s PlayStation 3. Those consoles play games in high-definition and offer online downloads of movies and music. Nintendo has said it will begin selling a high-definition Wii U console by year-end. Microsoft also may be preparing ... and more » Sony Corp. and Forest City Shares Among Major Percentage Movers Feb. 3rd Wall St. Cheat Sheet By Derek Hoffman Sony Corporation (NYSE:SNE): Among the decisions Sony Corp.'s new CEO Kazuo Hirai faces is how to approach the company's movie and music divisions, whose profits are key to offset deep losses elsewhere at the company, ... and more » The Japan Times 2011 ? a year electronics makers want to forget The Japan Times Televisions will remain key products for Sony, despite its TV business being expected to post its eighth consecutive annual loss, Sony Corp.'s next president and CEO, Kazuo Hirai, said in a news conference Thursday. Hirai vowed to turn around the TV ... Panasonic expects to book record ¥780 billion net loss The Japan Times The world's largest maker of plasma TVs has joined Sony Corp. and Sharp Corp. in increasing loss forecasts as manufacturers struggle to cope with the yen trading near postwar high levels, damping the repatriated value of their overseas sales. and more » Nikkei average slips Business Recorder (blog) Japan's Nikkei share average fell on Friday for the first time in four days ahead of US jobs data, though Sony Corp soared as investors hoped a new CEO would turn things around after it forecast a $2.9 billion annual loss. Sony jumped 8.1 percent, ... and more »

DAILY REPORTS

Feb 3 Panasonic joins ailing Japan giants Japan's Panasonic Corp warned of a record annual $US10.2 billion net loss, joining beleaguered rivals Sony and Sharp in a sea of red ink as they struggle to fix their broken TV businesses and show they have not lost their way. Panasonic's forecast loss of 780 billion yen ($US10.2 billion) for the year to March dwarfed expectations, and is almost all due to restructuring charges and writedowns for its Sanyo Electric unit. Sony on Thursday pressed its reset button after warning of a bigger-than-expected annual loss, announcing that Kazuo Hirai will take over from Stringer as CEO in April, triggering an 8 per cent jump in its share price on Friday, its biggest one-day per centage gain in almost a year. (Sydney Morning Herald) Feb 3 Japan Inc. suppliers cut jobs as yen batters tv, chip profit Japan Inc. is suffering and the supply chain is bearing the cost. Sumco Corp., a supplier to Sony Corp. and Toshiba Corp., said yesterday it will cut 1,300 jobs. Auto windshield maker Nippon Sheet Glass Co., which sells to Mazda Motor Corp., said it will cut 3,500 jobs. They join NEC Corp., a Japanese maker of telecom equipment and components, which said last month it would eliminate 10,000 positions. The yen's 7 percent surge against the dollar in the past 12 months has widened losses at Panasonic Corp. Sony, Mazda and Sharp Corp., which plans to halve TV production at its biggest factory to reduce inventory. Manufacturers have been forced to both relocate production outside of Japan and to press their suppliers for cost cuts. (BusinessWeek) Feb 3 Panasonic projects record annual net loss Panasonic on Friday nearly doubled its projected net loss for the fiscal year to a record 780 billion yen ($10.2 billion) amid weak TV and mobile phone sales and ongoing restructuring costs after acquiring smaller Sanyo Electronics Co. Panasonic joins Sony and Sharp as the latest major Japanese electronics maker to predict huge losses for the year through March. That reflects the battering these brand name companies have taken from the yen's surge, a weak global economy, last year's tsunami disaster as well as flooding in Thailand, which disrupted supply networks. For the October-December quarter, Panasonic reported a net loss of 197.6 billion yen ($2.6 billion). A year earlier, it had a net profit of 40 billion yen for the same quarter. (AP) Feb 2 Sony more than doubles net loss forecast Japanese entertainment giant Sony more than doubled its full-year net loss forecast to $2.9 billion, a day after announcing that its president and CEO Howard Stringer would step aside. The firm on Thursday said it was expecting a net loss of 220 billion yen ($2.9 billion) for the year to March, up from 90 billion yen previously, in what will be its fourth consecutive year of losses. Last year the Tokyo-based maker of PlayStation consoles and Bravia televisions lost 259.6 billion yen. Sony also announced a net loss of 201.45 billion yen for the nine months to December, having made a profit of 129.22 billion yen in the corresponding period in 2010. (AFP) Feb 2 Trading suspended in 241 issues in Tokyo on glitch The Tokyo Stock Exchange says it has suspended trading in 241 securities, including Sony Corp. and Hitachi Ltd., due to a glitch in its electronic trading system. The problem was not affecting other issues on the exchange, which handles nearly 2,500 stocks and other financial instruments, exchange officials said. The Nikkei 225 index was up 68.73 points, or 0.8 percent, at 8,878.47 in midmorning trading. Stock exchange officials said they discovered the problem before trading opened at 9 a.m. and technical staff are working to correct it. (AP) Feb 1 Sony's Hirai to replace Stringer as CEO Sony Corp. announced Wednesday that Kazuo Hirai, who leads the company's core consumer products business, will replace Howard Stringer as CEO and president as the electronics and entertainment company tries to turn around its fortunes. The 51-year-old Hirai, currently executive deputy president, was widely expected to succeed Stringer, who will become chairman of the board of directors in June, Sony said in a statement. Hirai had also led the company's gaming business in the past. In 2009, Hirai was named as part of a new management team to lead Sony, and Stringer had told the board he recommended Hirai replace him. Battered by the strong yen and poor sales in its flat panel TV business, Sony has forecast its fourth year of net loss for the fiscal year through March. It will announce fiscal third quarter earnings on Thursday. (AP) Jan 30 Fujifilm seeks tie-up with Olympus Japanese film and camera maker Fujifilm has offered scandal-hit Olympus a capital and business tie-up, it said Monday as it announced a slump in third-quarter profits. Fujifilm said it has formally proposed a link-up to Olympus' advisors, seeing synergies in the pair's medical operations, although it did not reveal details. "Olympus has a very strong business in endoscopes while Fujifilm is a leading firm in the areas of X-ray image diagnosis and ultrasonic systems," said a Fujifilm spokesman. Olympus is reportedly seeking a corporate alliance to shore up its finances after admitting covering up $1.7 billion in losses, and several Japanese and foreign firms including Sony have been mentioned as possible partners. (AFP) Jan 26 Uniqlo scores in bet Sony, Adidas missed on tennis ace Nishikori Japan's No. 1 tennis player Kei Nishikori's historic run at the Australian Open won a torrent of publicity for sponsor Fast Retailing Co., attention Sony Corp. and Adidas AG missed by not renewing endorsement deals. Japan's public broadcaster NHK purchased the rights to air Nishikori's Australian Open match yesterday, boosting the estimated TV audience to 55 million viewers in Japan, after the 22-year-old defeated No. 6 seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to win a berth in the quarterfinals. Nishikori lost the match to No. 4 seed Andy Murray, after becoming the first Japanese man in 80 years to reach the $12 million tournament's final eight. (Bloomberg) Jan 26 Shibuya style with an Akihabara twist? Shibuya-kei was one of the defining features of the music and fashion scenes of the 1990s, and it helped spawn the idea of "Cool Japan." The genre's sound was eclectic and openly embraced Western musical influences such as '60s lounge music, bossa nova, French pop and British guitar-pop, then coupled that mix with dance-music tenets and sampling technology. Flag-bearers for the movement include Pizzicato Five, Fantastic Plastic Machine and Flipper's Guitar. Shibuya-kei also represented a rare conjunction of commercial and artistic success, with independent artists having a real impact on mainstream music. In fact, some of these acts arguably set the scene for a flirtation between major Japanese labels and indie musicians that saw new-wave revivalists like Polysics sign to Sony and U.K.- U.S.-rock-influenced groups like Supercar and Number Girl define the subsequent decade in Japanese alternative music. (Japan Times) Jan 25 Japanese stocks advance as yen eases, Apple posts record profit Japanese stocks advanced, sending the Topix Index up for a seventh day, as the yen weakened and technology companies rose after Apple Inc. reported record sales and profit. Sony Corp., Japan's biggest exporter of consumer electronics, gained 4.8 percent. Toshiba Corp., a supplier of chips for Apple's iPad, rose 1.8 percent. Toyota Motor Corp. climbed 3 percent after a report that Nippon Steel Corp. agreed to cut material prices for Japan's biggest carmaker. The Topix, the country's broadest equity gauge, climbed 1.3 percent to 767.40 at the 3 p.m. close in Tokyo, its longest winning streak since July 6. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average rose 1.1 percent to 8,883.69, its highest since Oct. 31. (BusinessWeek) Jan 24 Exporter Japan eyes first trade deficit in 3 decades Japan probably produced its first trade deficit last year in more than three decades as energy imports surged to cover for the loss of nuclear power following the Fukushima disaster, a major blow to an economy built on its exports prowess. For decades Japan used an exports-orientated economic policy to build up global brand names such as Toyota, Sony and Canon and a manufacturing might that was the envy of the world. Official trade figures due for release on Wednesday are expected to show that Japan swung to a deficit for the first time since 1980, as utilities purchased fossil fuels for power stations to make up for the loss of nuclear power. (Reuters) Jan 24 Sony and Panasonic brace for grim earnings season Sony Corp and rival Panasonic Corp are set to report a slump in quarterly earnings and may cut full-year forecasts after being hit by yen strength, Thai floods and consumer gloom in Europe during the vital pre-Christmas period. Both companies saw their debt ratings downgraded by Moody's Investor Services last week, as their TV divisions continue to bleed red ink despite restructuring efforts. Sony, which reports on February 2, is expected to barely break even for the normally lucrative October-December quarter. Operating profit is seen shriveling 94 percent to 8.8 billion yen ($114.3 million), based on an average estimate from 6 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. (Reuters) Jan 20 Moody's lowers rating on Japan's Sony, Panasonic Ratings agency Moody's on Friday downgraded Japanese electronics titans Sony and Panasonic, giving both companies a negative outlook. The agency lowered its assessment on debt issued by Sony to Baa1 from A3, citing "weak and volatile" earnings. It downgraded Panasonic to A2 from A1, saying its analysts were concerned "that the weakness in Panasonic's profile will continue". Moody's said around $5 billion worth of long-term debt issued by Sony was affected by its announcement, which it said was due in large part to "its loss-making TV business, which is grappling with severe competition, sharp price declines, and a strong yen". (Daily Star) Jan 16 Tokyo Shares End Down As S&P Action, Weak Euro Rekindle Fears Tokyo stocks fell sharply Monday, as Standard & Poor's credit rating downgrades on several European nations and fresh weakness in the euro translated into a selloff for financial shares such as Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group and Dai-ichi Life Insurance, as well as prominent exporters such as Sony. The Nikkei Stock Average dropped 121.66 points, or 1.4%, to 8378.36 following Friday's 1.4% rise. The benchmark index came within a few ticks of setting a fresh 2012 intraday low. The Topix index of all the Tokyo Stock Exchange First Section issues also fell 9.36 points, or 1.3%, to 725.24, with 31 of 33 subindexes ending in negative territory. As U.S. markets are on holiday tonight, trading volume wasn't very active considering the underlying volatility, totaling just 1.35 billion shares. (Wall Street Journal) Jan 15 Golf: Ishikawa mulling U.S. membership Ryo Ishikawa has never started his season this early, playing in the Sony Open for the first time. It's the start of what should be a long year, even by the Japanese star's standards. Ishikawa is interested in taking up U.S. PGA Tour membership. He is one of the biggest draws, especially on the U.S. West Coast, and he already has received exemptions to the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines, the Northern Trust Open at Riviera, along with the Transitions Championship at Innisbrook. The first three months are pivotal. (Japan Times) Jan 15 Firms look to hire foreign students Hundreds of foreign students from Japan's top universities turned up at a career forum Saturday in Tokyo, hoping to secure a job before their graduation in 2013. Clad in dark suits, the students flocked to Tokyo Dome City in Bunkyo Ward to attend briefings by 47 firms - including First Retailing Co., Sony Corp. and Mitsubishi Electric Corp. A total of 1,560 students, mostly Asian, registered to attend the Tokyo event and a job fair in Osaka on Sunday, both organized by recruitment consultancy Fourth Valley Concierge Corp. (Japan Times) Jan 11 Gaming key to Sony profit rebound-executive Sony Corp's videogaming business, led by its just-launched handheld "Vita," will prove pivotal in returning the company to profitability, Kazuo Hirai, the executive pegged to succeed Howard Stringer as president, said on Tuesday. But Japan's leading consumer electronics brand remains committed to its TV business despite predicting its eighth straight year of losses, Hirai and Stringer told reporters at a media roundtable at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. "The television is the home. We want to sustain the television as the center of the home," Stringer said. (Reuters) Jan 11 Sony boasts 500,000 vitas sold in Japan During Sony's keynote at CES, executive deputy president Kaz Hirai announced that 500,000 PS Vitas have sold since the platform was released in Japan last month. Sales of the PS Vita have been lackluster: Just three weeks after release, it was reported that the console's weekly sales had dropped below 42,000, selling fewer units than its predecessor, the PSP. Breaking 500,000 units by CES would indicate that sales had improved in the last week. Sony also announced that a Netflix app is in the works the PS Vita. Hirai said that Netflix is trying to have the app ready for the console's US launch at the end of February. Considering that you can get Netflix on pretty much any online-enabled device these days, it's hardly surprising. (complex.com) Jan 8 Sony quits organic-screen TV business Sony Corp. has discontinued production of TV sets with organic electroluminescence (EL) display panels, widely seen as the mainstream panel to be used in next-generation flat-screen TVs, it was learned Saturday. Though Sony will continue selling organic EL monitors for its corporate clients, it will concentrate its home-use TV production business on liquid-crystal display models. The move comes as South Korean makers are aiming to strengthen sales of their large-screen organic EL TV sets, and underlines the difficulties domestic manufacturers are facing in the TV production market. Sony released the world's first organic EL TV model in 2007. With some organic panels as thin as 3 millimeters, the TVs were said to be a symbol of Sony's revival as an advanced-technology developer. (Yomiuri) Jan 8 Sony eyes golden boy Hirai for president Sony Corp. is gearing up to promote Executive Deputy President Kazuo Hirai to president and let CEO Howard Stringer, concurrently president and chairman, focus on the chairmanship, sources said Saturday. They said hopes are growing that the 51-year-old Hirai, credited with revamping Sony's gaming and TV businesses, will be able to shore up the bottom line as the company anticipates a fourth consecutive year of consolidated net loss. Some people in the company blame Stringer, 69, for having been unable to pull Sony out of its earnings slump, the sources said. (Japan Times) Jan 6 Sony to launch flash cards with 125 Mbps write speeds Sony said Friday it will begin selling memory cards with write speeds of 125 Mbps, the fastest in the industry, from February. The new cards are the first to be announced under a new standard called XQD, a specification from the CompactFlash Assocation announced in December. The cards are meant for working with data-heavy formats such as raw image and video data in high-end cameras, where write speed to memory is becoming a bottleneck as image sensors and processors become more advanced. Faster write times will mean less pause between pictures snapped in data-heavy formats such as RAW, and snappier editing for previously saved data. (Computerworld) Jan 6 Sony throws away Japan recruitment rulebook Attention young Japanese job seekers: Sony Corp. wants to get to know you. The Japanese electronics giant is shaking things up in the way it will hire the incoming class of fresh entry-level suits, stepping out from the rigid recruitment system used by the country's most elite companies for generations. Gone are the indistinguishable black suits requisite for interviews. Gone is the formulaic interview involving a table, a chair either side and rote answers. Gone is the hiring taboo on applicants who spent the year after college studying abroad instead of jumping into the job market. The changes, announced in late December, are the company's attempts to distinguish the individuals from the masses. (Wall Street Journal) Jan 2 Most top firms predict no growth in new year More than 70 percent of 105 leading Japanese companies see economic activity here either receding or flattening out because of the yen's continued strength and slowdowns in the U.S. and European economies, according to survey released Monday. Japan's economy is regarded as "slowing" or "gradually slowing" by 17 companies, and leveling out by 58, the December survey carried out by Kyodo News said. The survey sought responses from the top executives at leading companies including Canon Inc., Nippon Steel Corp., Sony Corp., Toyota Motor Corp. and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. (Japan Times) Dec 30 Japan's Nikkei at lowest year-end level since 1982 Japan's main share index has closed at its lowest end-of-year level since 1982. The Nikkei 225 index finished Friday up 0.7% to 8,455.35 Stocks have been hit by a weak global economy, as well as a devastating earthquake and tsunami on 16 March that left 20,000 people dead or missing and sparked a nuclear crisis. Shares have lost a fifth of their value this year, with the majority of losses in the two days following the disaster. The disaster severely disrupted manufacturing at carmakers such as Toyota and electronics firms such as Sony. (BBC) Dec 30 Sony PlayStation Vita sales fall sharply after Japanese launch Sales of the PlayStation Vita have fallen by nearly 80 percent during the week that ended on December 25 according to tracking firm Media Create. Sony sold approximately 325,000 Vita units on December 17 and 18, but only sold about 10,000 units a day during the following week. Sales of the PlayStation Portable beat sales of the PlayStation Vita by approximately 25,000 units. In addition, Nintendo saw massive sales of the 3DS during the same week and nearly sold half a million units. That pushes Nintendo over four million units sold for the entire year, a fact that Nintendo officials mentioned in a recent press release. (Digital Trends) [ More... ]