Samsung weighs up future of LCD business February 14, 2012 Samsung Electronics it is considering various options to improve competitiveness of its loss-making LCD flat-screen business but declined to comment on a media report that it may spin off the operation. The potential restructuring comes after it ended its liquid crystal display (LCD) venture with Sony Corp recently and as demand growth for flat-screens weakened [...]
US stocks rise and Apple hits its peak February 13, 2012 US stocks rose yesterday, with the S&P 500 near seven-month highs, after Greece’s parliament approved reforms needed to qualify for a bailout and avoid an unruly default. Apple shares closed above $500 for the first time after a gain of 1.9 per cent, leading the Nasdaq Composite to close at a more than 11-year high. [...]
Olympus forecasts £261m loss February 13, 2012 Olympus Corp, which is trying to recover from an accounting scandal that battered its balance sheet, forecast a 32bn yen (£261m) full-year net loss – dragged down by its ailing camera business. The loss estimate for the financial year ending 31 March, compared with a 3.87bn yen net profit in the previous year, highlights the [...]
Apple seeks Samsung injunction February 12, 2012 Apple has asked a California court to issue a preliminary injunction to block sales of Samsung’s new Galaxy Nexus smartphone, alleging the device infringes four Apple patents. The move marks another escalation of the legal battle between the world’s top two sellers of smartphones, with Apple re-focusing its arguments to account for Samsung’s rising position [...]
TECH TALK February 8, 2012 APPLE ITV PRICE AND SPECS LEAKED Apple hasn’t even come close to confirming there will be an Apple TV – dubbed iTV in the US – but that hasn’t stopped its specs and price being leaked. Retailer Best Buy carried out a survey asking its customers if they would be interested in a 42-inch, 1080p [...]
Phone maker HTC is facing tough future February 6, 2012 TAIWANESE smartphone maker HTC has yet to catch up with market dominators Apple and Samsung, posting expectations of a weak quarter ahead despite strong growth in fiscal 2011. The world’s number five smartphone maker said it expects revenues of 65bn Taiwanese dollars (£1.4bn) in the first three months of this year, down from T$101.42bn in [...]
Taiwanese firm is caught in pincer February 6, 2012 THE demise of Nokia happened in slow motion. Apple released its first iPhone in 2007 but it took almost four years before Nokia admitted it was “standing on a burning platform”. Even now, some believe Nokia’s new Microsoft Windows smartphone, the Lumia, could snatch the Finnish handset maker from the jaws of defeat (for the [...]
Panasonic lurching towards record £6bn loss February 3, 2012 Japan’s Panasonic Corp forecast a record net annual loss of £6.4bn, joining beleaguered rival Sony Corp in a sea of red ink, both struggling to fix their broken TV businesses and overcome criticism that they have lost their way. Panasonic, posting quarterly results, said it was headed for a loss of 780bn yen (£6.46bn) for [...]
Sony to lurch further into red February 2, 2012 TROUBLED electronics company Sony is set to make its fourth consecutive annual loss – the worst run in its 54 years as a listed firm – as the group yesterday upped its loss forecast from ¥90bn (£750m) to ¥220bn. Sony also slashed its previous operating income forecast of ¥20bn to a ¥95bn loss. The third [...]
Stringer set to step down as Sony chief February 1, 2012 WELSH-born Sir Howard Stringer is to step down as president and chief executive of Sony after a fifteen year run at the Japanese electronics company, to be replaced by Kazuo Hirai. Hirai, aged 51 and currently executive deputy president, will take Stringer’s seat on 1 April. Stringer – a rare foreign chief executive for a leading [...]