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Will Porn Fuel Sony and Panasonic 3D TV Sales?

Jeff Reeves — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 12:30:00 EST

When you think 3D TV, the possibilities are limitless. That game-winning touchdown pass spiraling out of your flat screen, alien invaders flying ships through the screen ... and yes, even naked women strutting their stuff in your living room.

It's this latter and controversial content that is fueling the 3D business in Japan right now, where a pair of porn stars are leading the charge in developing three-dimensional entertainment that is compatible with Sony (SNE) and Panasonic (PC) televisions.

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Will Porn Fuel Sony and Panasonic 3D TV Sales? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 03 Jun 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sharp Takes the Lead in Production of Small 3D Screens

Connie Madon — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 09:40:00 EST

Filed under: Products and Services, Launches, Market Matters, Smartphones

With the popularity of the movie Avatar, the 3D craze is going worldwide.

Sharp Corp. (SHCAY) plans to make small, 3D liquid crystal displays that don't require special glasses. Spokesman for Sharp, Yoshisuke Hasigawa, said, "just like black and white TVs turned color, all displays will eventually be 3D capable."

Sharp has already been approached by mobile phone makers about supplying small 3D displays, Hasigawa said.

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Sharp Takes the Lead in Production of Small 3D Screens originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 04 Apr 2010 09:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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George Bush cozy with Crocs CEO: An ugly tide that raises two boats?

Sarah Gilbert — Thu, 14 Jun 2007 15:04:00 EST

Filed under: Management, Blogs, Marketing and Advertising, Crocs Inc (CROX), Politics

I saw this photo of George Bush wearing Crocs on Styledash, and laughed at the suggestion he be impeached for wearing such ugly footwear (although, to be honest, I thought he looked rather dashing in them -- did I just type that?). I thought, hey, great endorsement! and started clicking around to other web sites.

That's when I saw this Forbes article about how Bush's May 18 fundraiser for the Republican Party was held at the estate of Rick and Sherry Sharp. Guess which company Rick Sharp is chairman of? Well, there are two, but the first one is Crocs, Inc. (NASDAQ: CROX). (The other one is Carmax, Inc. (NYSE: KMX).)

Could it be a coincidence that the country's president is shot sporting the iconic Crocs beach shoes at about the same time his buddy Rick helped raise $630k? Sure, that's chump change when it comes to party fundraising, but I'd be willing to bet the buzz surrounding Bush's fashion choices could have an equal effect to the price of Crocs' stock, which is (of course) very near its all-time high as it is, at $91.01, up 11 cents as of this writing. It's not quite dirty politics, but it is curious and curiouser.

Another BloggingStocks blogger, Garry E. Sattler, opined on the matter: President Bush and Crocs thumb their noses at media polls approval rating

Do you love or hate Crocs? See our gallery for more.

Gallery: Crocs: Love 'em or hate 'em?

George Bush cozy with Crocs CEO: An ugly tide that raises two boats? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 14 Jun 2007 15:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony makes it back to even

Douglas McIntyre — Wed, 20 Dec 2006 09:39:00 EST

Filed under: International Markets, Launches, Industry, Consumer Experience, Sony Corp ADR (SNE)

For a while this year, it looked like Sony Corp.'s (NYSE:SNE) stock might never recover from its battery recalls and Playstation 3 delays.

But, things have started to move Sony's way. After opening the year at $41, Sony's stock got as low as $37.25. The shares are now back to about $43.

Sony has done a number of things to save its own hide, and some of them may be working. The company is working on a number of ways to get its studio content onto multiple platforms, including its own Playstation portable. Sony is even working with flash memory sticks that allow movies to be played on cell phones.

Sony may also benefit now that Sharp is producing blue laser diodes in greater number. The components are essential for next-generation DVDs, and lack of product has hurt holiday sales. Sony has its own production capability, but it is tied up with the PS3. As the Financial Times points out: "new standards are expected to generate billions in revenue for the technologies' backers - led by Sony in the case of Blu-ray and Toshiba for HD-DVD." So, Sony's payday in the DVD business should be getting better.

Perhaps the single most important development for Sony over the last few months is that the company is insisting that it will sell six million of the new PS3 by the end of March. That number had been in doubt as supplies of the platform were low for Christmas.

Sony has been burdened by ugly problems and doubts on Wall St. that management could get the company back into a reasonable competitive position in media and gaming. There are some signs, at least, the the company is on the right path.

Douglas A. McIntyre is a partner at 24/7 Wall St.

Sony makes it back to even originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 20 Dec 2006 09:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Wal-Mart tries again to boost same-store sales with more price cuts

Jon Ogg — Fri, 10 Nov 2006 11:05:00 EST

Filed under: Products and Services, Consumer Experience, Competitive Strategy, Wal-Mart (WMT)

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE:WMT) is now targeting price cutbacks on selected small home appliances for the Christmas season. Its rollbacks are on nearly 50 home appliances from brands including GE, Hoover and Sharp.

Here are some of the listed items and price cuts:
-Hoover fusion cyclonic upright vacuum (was $112/now $98)
-Mr. Coffee 12-cup programmable coffee maker (was $42.48/now $37.88) and espresso maker (was $29.86/now $24.88)
-Sharp .08 cubic foot black microwave (was $54.88/now $49.88)
-GE 1.1 cubic foot microwave (was $64.72/now $59.88)
-Black & Decker Quick 'N Easy 8-cup food processor (was $29.72/now $24.88)

Wal-Mart will continue to roll back the prices of toys, electronics, apparel and more this holiday season. While this is not as extreme as the select electronics price cuts, this is just one more initiative that the company is willing to do whatever it can from keeping those November same-store sales from being as FLAT as the company recently forecast. These cuts are not on such expensive items that they will bite into margins, and they probably got GE, Hoover, and Sharp to take some juice out, ,too.

But this is still a trend toward more and more lower-priced items that are driving margins down in an effort to keep from posting flat or negative same-store sales. It has to make you wonder that if the economy is slowing into 2007 what the monster retailer can do to keep its same-store sales higher in 2007.

It also makes you wonder now if Wal-Mart will actually endorse a higher minimum wage. If they have to get into the spiral of only worrying about same-store sales instead of raw profits, that would actually make sense. It would increase their labor costs drastically and therefore affect operating costs, but it might result in higher spending from their demographics in 2007.

Jon C. Ogg
November 10, 2006

Jon Ogg is a partner in 24/7 Wall St., LLC; he does not own securities in the companies he covers.

Wal-Mart tries again to boost same-store sales with more price cuts originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 10 Nov 2006 11:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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