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Can Sharp Survive? Company’s Performance ‘Raises Serious Doubts About [Our Ability] to Continue’

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Photo of Sharp booth at CESLast week, we reported on a rumor out of Japan that Sharp Corp. was about to report a dismal interim net loss that was much worse than anticipated. This Wednesday, Sharp confirmed those rumors announcing an interim (Apr-Sept) operating loss of ¥168.9 billion ($2.1 billion). This result was after a ¥84.4 billion ($1.1 billion) charge for costs associated with restructuring their struggling business.

But what really has the industry and investors talking is that the company affirmed that it is likely to show a “huge” net loss for the entire fiscal year of ¥450 billion ($5.6 billion), almost double a previous estimate of ¥250 billion. It is also well above analysts’ estimate of a ¥296 billion loss according to a survey of 17 analysts  by Bloomberg. [Read more…] about Can Sharp Survive? Company’s Performance ‘Raises Serious Doubts About [Our Ability] to Continue’

Hurricane Sandy Slams the East Coast…
and strata-GEE.com

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Star Ledger photo from Union Beach, NJ
Union Beach, NJ
Star-Ledger

The appearance of Hurricane Sandy was no surprise – her arrival had been predicted for days. And most area residents took the weather service’s warnings about the storm seriously, as witnessed by the empty grocery store shelves and long gas station lines the weekend before she hit the nation’s largest tri-state metropolitan area of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.

But she hit hard, harder than any storm before and the death toll, which increases daily, is a testament to the intensity and destructiveness of Mother Nature. Most of the damage took place after dark with the greatest intensity of wind gusts and driving rain hitting strata-GEE.com’s central New Jersey locale between 8:00PM-Midnight.

Hear more about this “SuperStorm’s” impact on the region… [Read more…] about Hurricane Sandy Slams the East Coast…
and strata-GEE.com

Best Buy Warns Profits Will Be ‘Significantly Below’ Last Year, Cuts Senior Managers

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BREAKING NEWS…

Best Buy LogoAfter the close of the market today, Best Buy warned Wall Street that its third quarter earnings and same-store sales will be significantly below the same quarter last year. The company also announced that head of U.S. business Mike Vitelli, and other executives, will leave the company at the end of this fiscal year in early February.

But the warning to Wall Street went even further… [Read more…] about Best Buy Warns Profits Will Be ‘Significantly Below’ Last Year, Cuts Senior Managers

Sharp Shocker: Company Will Report Interim Net Loss Almost Double Their Forecast

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Photo of Sharp 70-inch flat-panel TVThe Nikkei reported today that it has learned from unnamed sources that Sharp Corp. is about to report a surprising interim net loss of ¥400 billion (just over $5 billion). Covering the period of their April-through-September fiscal (interim) semester, this loss is 90% worse – almost double – their most recent estimate of a ¥210 billion loss…and an full ten times worse than last years interim loss of ¥39.8 billion.

How did Sharp management get their forecast so wrong?… [Read more…] about Sharp Shocker: Company Will Report Interim Net Loss Almost Double Their Forecast

Alpine Parent Alps Electric Reinvents the Car-to-Human Control Interface

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Graphic of Alps logoIn a new video published to the Internet on Wednesday by Diginfo TV, Alps Electric – parent company of Alpine Electronics – demonstrates a prototype of future automotive control technology that redefines the human interface with the car of the future. Shown earlier this year at a show in Japan, this is the first time the concept was demonstrated to the rest of the world thanks to this video.

See this futuristic interface which includes gestures, predictive configuration, and haptic technology… [Read more…] about Alpine Parent Alps Electric Reinvents the Car-to-Human Control Interface

In Search of Beats Replacement, Monster Turns to…Tumi?

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Photo of Tumi x Monster HeadphonesThe best briefcase I have ever owned – it has literally been around the world with me – is my Tumi leather soft-side, expandable briefcase. I still own it and whenever I go anywhere for a business meeting…it goes with me. So it caught my attention today scanning the news wire services when I saw a press release that Monster (formerly Monster Cable) was partnering with Tumi to launch a new headphone – called the Tumi x Monster – based on their existing Inspirations model.

Not exactly an intuitive choice…Monster has their reasons for partnering with the luxury travel brand… [Read more…] about In Search of Beats Replacement, Monster Turns to…Tumi?

Panasonic to Cut Production of LCD TV Panels

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CEScrowd2PanasonicPanasonic Corp. has announced it will cut production of LCD panels targeted for TV manufacture in the next fiscal year in order to increase production of small and midsize LCD panels for tablets and other mobile devices. The move is seen as a response to the company’s declining TV business.

Juggling purchase and supply agreements…looking for cost savings…

[Read more…] about Panasonic to Cut Production of LCD TV Panels

New Research Quantifies Impact of ‘Showrooming’

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Harris Interactive LogoNew research released today from Harris Interactive, conducted on behalf of CouponCabin.com, provides a sobering look at how prevalent the practice of showrooming is among smartphone- and tablet-owning retail shoppers. Showrooming is where retail shoppers use their smartphone or tablet to look up lower prices on items they see in the retail showroom to purchase later from an online merchant.

According to the survey, more than 43% of smartphone and tablet owning consumers admit to showrooming. This figure, alarmingly close to 50%, is likely to be much higher than many industry observers would have expected.

But the survey didn’t stop there… [Read more…] about New Research Quantifies Impact of ‘Showrooming’

After Years of Free-Fall, Housing Finds a Solid Bottom It Can Build From

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Photo of housing under constructionThe U.S. Commerce Department released the latest data on new residential construction today and the results caught most off-guard as it was significantly better than expected with September overall housing starts increasing to 872,000 units – an amazing 15% over the revised August figure of 758,000. This data clearly suggests the nightmare of the 2007 housing market collapse can start to become a memory as the market recovers from a very scary bottom reached in the middle of 2009 when starts were at the lowest levels ever recorded since 1959.

More good news as housing’s outlook brightens… [Read more…] about After Years of Free-Fall, Housing Finds a Solid Bottom It Can Build From

Nortek Names New Chief Supply Chain Officer

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Nortek LogoNortek, Inc. announced today the appointment of Scott Campbell to Vice President and Chief Supply Chain Officer. A newly created position, the company says that the executive will be responsible for “creating, driving and implementing” an enterprise-grade, global supply chain strategy. [Read more…] about Nortek Names New Chief Supply Chain Officer