Sony eyes Vita push, feels Fitch heat

Sony Corp, set to report a $1 billion loss this year, is banking on a big slate of new software to drive sales of its new PlayStation Vita handheld games device, even as Fitch downgraded the Japanese electronics giant to a notch above junk.

Welshman Andrew House, who took the top job at Sony Computer Entertainment in September, must plot a much-needed success story for the Vita, negotiating a minefield of consumer gloom and competition from smartphones and tablet PCs such as Apple Inc's iPhone and iPad.

Sony, which has forecast a fourth straight annual loss this year, launches the Vita in Japan this weekend.

It hopes a package of 24 software titles at launch will help the gadget avoid the fate of rival Nintendo's 3DS, which flopped shortly after launch, forcing a hefty price cut.

"It's unprecedented for us to achieve that degree of publisher and development support ... we adopted a different approach to the lead-up to the platform in terms of our relationships with publishers and developers," House told reporters at Sony's Tokyo head office on Thursday.

He said he hoped the Vita would outsell its predecessor, the PlayStation Portable (PSP), which has shipped 73 million units since launching in late-2004.

The videogames unit made a first profit in 5 years in the year to March, as it squeezed production costs for the Playstation 3, boosting profits for the whole company. The unit's sales accounted for more than a tenth of Sony's 7 trillion yen in total revenue.

But costs involved in driving Vita sales may push the unit back into the red this year, adding to Sony's struggle with huge losses in televisions.

Sony needs the Vita to be a hit to ease the pain from its TV business, which is set for an annual loss of $2.2 billion, an eighth straight year of losses. Sony is looking to halve that loss next year, but has given few details on how it plans to get the business back into profit.

FITCH MOVE

The Fitch ratings agency turned up the heat by downgrading Sony to BBB- - a notch above non-investment, or junk, grade - from BBB, citing the group's weakened financial performance and the challenges it faces in recapturing its former strong position in key markets.

"A likely overall FY12 EBIT loss, excluding financial services, and an increase in debt driven by acquisitions will significantly weaken Sony's credit profile," said Nitin Soni, Associate Director in Fitch's Asia-Pacific Telecommunications, Media and Technology team.

Sony said in October it was taking over its mobile phone joint venture with Ericsson for $1.5 billion, and is also leading a group to buy EMI's music publishing operations in a deal valued at $2.2 billion.

"Of course, if the rating is downgraded it makes it more expensive for them to raise money, so it's not good," said Keita Wakabayashi, an analyst at Mito Securities.

"(Sony has) slashed its profit outlook for the current year and even if the North American market has improved slightly, European and Japanese markets and emerging markets are in a severe state. So downgrades are something we'll have to keep in mind."

VITA

The Vita, featuring a 5-inch OLED display and 3G connectivity, sold out in advance bookings in Japan, where buyers have rushed to upgrade from the PSP. Sony has not provided a unit sales target for the Vita.

The United States and Europe may pose a tougher challenge as a February 22 launch date for the Vita comes well after the crucial year-end holiday sales season.

"We've been told the PS Vita sold out on pre-bookings. How it sells next year depends on the software. If they can come up with something like Monster Hunter they will be able to sell a lot, but if they don't, prospects don't look so bright," said Mito's Wakabayashi, referring to a game title that drove sales of the PSP in Japan.

The challenge from smartphones and tablets comes on top of competition from long-standing domestic rival Nintendo, which aims to sell 16 million of its cheaper 3DS handheld games devices by March. Sony on Thursday said it was keeping to its target of selling 15 million PS3 game machines in the year through March.

Another rival, Microsoft, doesn't offer a portable device.

After a slump in sales, Nintendo slashed the price of its handheld gadget in August by about 40 percent to $170, compared with $249 for the PS Vita, or $299 for the 3G version.

The games industry has shrugged off the broader economic gloom and is forecast to top $81 billion by 2016, according to research firm DFC Intelligence, up 23 percent from this year and more than three times the size of the recorded music industry.

Much of that growth is likely to be in online, social and casual games, rather than the traditional hardware model that has been Sony's staple.

Japan's software houses are pouring resources into mobile social gaming, and industry executives have expressed some concern over the future for dedicated handheld gaming devices.

Sony was criticized in June, when it announced the pricing of the Vita, for making the gadget too expensive, and has teamed up with U.S. telecoms firm AT&T as Vita's exclusive carrier. Many U.S. iPhone users have complained that AT&T provided poor connectivity.

Sony shares closed down 1.5 percent on Thursday, their lowest in two weeks.

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Daewoo signs deal to develop Israel's Tamar gas field

Daewoo International

 South Korea's Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co Ltd said on Tuesday that it has agreed to develop Israel's Tamar natural gas field with Noble Energy Inc, Delek Group Ltd and Isramco Inc, and was eyeing vessel orders for the project.

Under the deal, Daewoo will soon conduct an LNG-FPSO feasibility study, aiming to sign a final agreement by the end of next year, a statement from the shipbuilder said, without specifying the size of its stake in the development deal or the value.

The statement said it aimed to produce liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the field, which has estimated reserves of 240 billion cubic meters of natural gas, from the end of 2016 if all the processes for the final deal remained on track.

The volume was equivalent to five times South Korea's annual consumption, Daewoo added.

"(Daewoo) hopes to win multiple orders for LNG floating production and storage and offloading (FPSO) vessels," the Daewoo statement said, adding that the field's owners were considering gas production in the largest offshore find of 2009 through FPSO vessels, not onshore plants, for geopolitical reasons.

The Tamar field is located in a sea area about 80 kilometres west of the port of Haifa, according to the Daewoo statement.

Isramco said last week that it had made a preliminary deal with Daewoo to build and operate a floating LNG facility for exports to South Korea and elsewhere, adding that the companies would hold talks to secure a contract for 15-20 years at a price likely to be between $7 and $9 per MMBTU.

South Korea, the world's second-largest LNG importer after Japan, imported nearly 30 million tonnes of LNG in the first ten months of this year.

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European shares gain strenght

European shares rose on Tuesday, bouncing from a steep sell-off in the previous session and after Wall Street finished off its lows, though gains were set to be capped by worries over high euro zone and U.S. debt levels.

At 0936 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was up 0.4 percent at 923.33 points, after falling 3.3 percent in the previous session to its lowest close in nearly seven weeks, on worries about high debt levels on both sides of the Atlantic and with Moody's warning on France.

Stocks rose almost across the board, with those that suffered most in the previous session bouncing more. The STOXX Europe 600 Banking Index rose 0.6 percent. France's BNP Paribas rose 1.2 percent.

But the banking sector has lost more than 38 percent in 2011, with many banks having to take severe writedowns on exposure to euro zone sovereign debt.

"This (the overall market) does not look like any weakness that one could buy into with a high degree of confidence," Jeremy Batstone-Carr, strategist at Charles Stanley, said.

"Uncertainty over the positioning of the rating agencies is almost certainly going to mean that any bounce in the market is likely to be limited."

Borrowing costs in the euro zone periphery remained major focus in the market. Spanish six-month bill average yields rose to 5.227 percent in an auction, compared with 3.302 percent at the previous sale.

HIGH PROFILE

U.S. lawmakers abandoned their high-profile effort to rein in the country's ballooning debt on Monday in a sign that Washington likely will not be able to resolve a dispute over taxes and spending until 2013.

The debt issues will continue to drive market sentiment, said strategists, and equities were unlikely to see much of a rally in the short term.

"You always get some kind of bounce after a fall-off, but the debt, the uncertainty hasn't really changed," said Andy Lynch, fund manager at Schroders, which manages 197 billion pounds ($311 billion).

"Absent some deus ex machina, time is the biggest healer. We need to see debt being paid down, so banks have capacity to fund economic growth. But that's a six-month story, rather than a six-day story.

"We favour companies with decent balance sheets and good cash flow."

Goldman Sachs cut its three-month target for the STOXX Europe 600 to 195 points, 13 percent below Monday's close of 224.76, citing worries about the failure of euro zone policymakers to come up with comprehensive measures to avoid contagion in the sovereign debt crisis.

"The lack of initiative means weak fundamentals are likely to be a key driver," Goldman strategists said in a note.

Batstone-Carr said there was support for equities from valuation measures such dividend yield.

Equity valuations on Thomson Reuters Datastream showed the STOXX Europe 600 carrying a one-year forward price-to-earnings of 9.4 against a 10-year average of more than 13.

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Obama college loan plan aims at an old voting bloc

Seeking to shore up support among cash-strapped college graduates and students struggling with rising tuition costs, President Barack Obama is outlining a plan to allow millions of student loan recipients to lower their payments and consolidate their loans.

Outside of mortgages, student loans are the No. 1 source of household debt. Young voters were an important bloc in Obama's 2008 campaign, and student loan debt is a common concern among Occupy Wall Street protesters.

Obama's announcement, to take place Wednesday in Denver, comes the same day a new report is being released by the College Board. It shows average in-state tuition and fees at four-year public colleges rose $631 this fall, or 8.3 percent, compared with a year ago. Nationally, the cost of a full credit load has passed $8,000, an all-time high.

The White House said Obama will use his executive authority to provide student loan relief in two ways.

First, he will accelerate a measure passed by Congress that reduces the maximum repayment on student loans from 15 percent of discretionary income annually to 10 percent. The White House wants it to go into effect in 2012, instead of 2014. In addition, the White House says the remaining debt would be forgiven after 20 years, instead of 25. About 1.6 million borrowers could be affected.

Second, he will allow borrowers who have a loan from the Federal Family Education Loan Program and a direct loan from the government to consolidate them into one loan. The consolidated loan would carry an interest rate of up to a half percentage point less than before. This could affect 5.8 million more borrowers.

Education Secretary Arne Duncan told reporters on a conference call that the changes could save some borrowers hundreds of dollars a month.

"These are real savings that will help these graduates get started in their careers and help them make ends meet," Duncan said.

The White House said the changes will carry no additional costs to taxpayers.

Last year, Congress passed a law that lowered the repayment cap and moved all student loans to direct lending by eliminating banks as the middlemen. Before that, borrowers could get loans directly from the government or from the Federal Family Education Loan Program; the latter were issued by private lenders but basically insured by the government. The law was passed along with the health care overhaul with the anticipation that it could save about $60 billion over a decade.

Today, there are 23 million borrowers with $490 billion in loans under the Federal Family Education Loan Program. Last year, the Education Department made $102.2 billion in direct loans to 11.5 million recipients.

Meanwhile, the Education Department and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced a project Tuesday to simplify the financial aid award letters that colleges mail to students each spring. A common complaint is that colleges obscure the inclusion of student loans in financial aid packages to make their school appear more affordable, and the agencies hope families will more easily be able to compare the costs of colleges.

Separately, James Runcie, the Education Department's federal student aid chief operating officer, told a congressional panel Tuesday that the personal financial details of as many 5,000 college students were temporarily viewable on the department's direct loan website earlier this month.

Runcie said site was shut down while the matter was resolved, and the affected students have been notified and offered credit monitoring.

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Attain Quick Finance by Using Debit Card

Do you have debit card in your name? If yes then you can use it under emergency circumstances which usually comes in the mid or near end of the month in your life without giving any prior notification. These loans allow you to obtain quick financial relief at urgent times against your debit card. This may help you to look after many unwanted cash commitments within due time.

A debit card showcases that you regularly do financial transactions. In this way you can conveniently get out of unexpected monetary tantrums in an efficient manner. For availing debit card cash loans you need to be at least 18 years of age or above and you need to hold an active valid bank account along with a debit card in your name. Moreover, you also need to have stable job with good income flow.

The assistance of debit card cash loans helps you to raise sufficient funds that may come in between 100 to 1500. For the repayment of loan you will be offered a short period of 2 to 4 weeks. The loan amount charges will be relatively high, as these are offered for a short time only without any security deposit. But if you smartly research the comprehensive online financial market, then you will be able to derive the effective loan deal at feasible rates.

The amount received with these loans is enough to tackle your many unexpected financial dues such as pay for unpaid grocery bill, credit card debts, unpredicted medical bill, car repairing, small travel expense, organizing small birthday party, buying a mobile phone and more.

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Uk Loans - Ensure Instant Money For a Stress Less Life

Tenants or non home owners often find it difficult to obtain a loan. A valuable property to secure as collateral is demanded by every lender to offer hassle free financial deal. If you are having financial problems and looking for the finest loan approach that suit your terms, here are loans UK for you. These loans are unsecured form of loan that is pertinent and appropriate financial option for tenants. The assistance of these loans let you grab instant money with no collateral assessment procedure.

For the better and affordable financial aid, check out loans UK right away. These loans can be availed with the ease of online application method. You do not have to leave the comfort of your home or office. Make a careful online research and search the most affordable lender of all. To get applied, fill the application form with few required details and the money can be accessed directly from your checking account in quick span of time. There will be no fuss and delay in the application or approval.

To get approved with UK tenant loans, one needs to meet some of the simple eligibility criteria. To get this loan aid, the applicant should be a permanent citizen of UK and complete the age of eighteen years or more. Also, he should be in capable enough to repay back the loan money on time. Plus, he should hold a valid and active bank account that should not be more than three months old.

The situation may come when you cannot able to fulfill your financial expenses within your monthly income. Loans UK are one of the ideal sources of financial deal for people to overcome their financial troubles with ease. You need not have to arrange any valuable asset to pledge as a security against the loan amount. You are allowed to borrow the loan money that can be ranges from 1000 to 25000 with swift repayment tenure of 1 to 10 years. Spend the funds for meeting any of the desired or pending financial expenses such as renovating your home, paying off previous debts, pay off huge monthly rent, go for small vacations and so on.

No worries if your credit scores are bad or imperfect, you can still get the approval of loans UK. These loans are powerful financial tool for tenants that can be availed without undergoing any credit checks and collateral demand.
Mathew Kenny is offering loan and financial advice for quite a long time. He is working as the senior financial consultant with Loans. To find loans UK, personal loans for tenants, UK tenant loans, unsecured tenant loans, bad credit tenant loans, tenant loans visit http://www.uktenantloans.co.uk

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Are Settlement Loans And Lawsuit Loans Legal?

Since I’m in the industry, obviously I have a lot of interest in articles being published about theis particular facet of litigation funding. I find it particularly interesting to read the numerous articles that are misleading. One can only surmise that many of these articles are published by those who would want to preclude having individuals obtain adequate lawsuit loans and settlement loans to assist them with the litigation process. A common reason that this would occur would be because the individuals do want do not want the injured plaintiff to have his/her “day-in-court.”

As we begin this article, let me say that some jurisdictions make it extremely difficult, if not impossible, to obtain lawsuit funding (e.g., North Carolina). However, most states do permit such transactions to occur. It is understood that, as a public-policy, this form of funding can be very helpful to those who do not have the financial resources to fend for themselves if tthey sustain injuries as a result of another’s negligence.

Please take note of the fact that attorneys are barred, at least in most jurisdictions, from assisting their clients financially, irrespective of the financial hardship the client may face. Additionally, most jurisdictions make it illegal for anyone other than a disinterested third party to provide either lawsuit loans were settlement loans to plaintiffs. Attorneys who violate this stricture often place their professional lives in jeopardy.

The American Bar Association has made it very clear that its position is that attorneys are not to advance financing to their clients to enable them to proceed with litigation. Furthermore, virtually all jurisdictions bar attorneys from engaging in this activity. Many attorneys general offices have actually issued legal opinions with respect to this issue.

An individual may certainly incredibly asked why he such funding would be necessary to pursue litigation if one is injured as a result of another’s negligence. Unfortunately, many people find themselves confronting substantial delays in settlements. These delays can create crashing hardships on those individuals who have sustained the injuries. In fact, insurance carriers often focus on the strategy of “delay, delay, delay.” These delays often result in coercing the plaintiffs to settle their claims at a substantially-reduced amount.

There are some instances in which attorneys object to their clients obtaining either lawsuit loans are settlement loans. Although this is relatively rare, this is seen most commonly in attorneys who work with so-called Personally Injury Mills. The attorneys do not wish to have the client possess the means by which he/she is able to continue the litigation because the attorney wants to quickly churn-out a particular number of cases each month to meet the firm’s quota. Individuals would be wise to avoid utilizing such attorneys’ services.

It is the non-recourse nature of litigation funding that often confuses individuals. However, this simply means that if the individual does not win the underlying lawsuit, they do not have to repay the money advanced. Actually, it’s inappropriate to refer to these arrangements as “loans.” If they were loans, it would be necessary for them to be repaid, irrespective of the outcome of the case. Therefore, it is more appropriate to refer to this form of funding as, just that, funding.

In spite of all of the fear-mongering, lawsuit loans and settlement loans are perfectly legal, if not performed in a usurious manner. If a funding entity were to engage in such activities, the transaction could be barred as a matter of law. Therefore, individuals would be wise to work closely with lawsuit funding brokers to assist them in finding the most ethical and economical avenues to obtain the funding they seek.

Do you think a lawsuit settlement loan is right for you? Would you like to learn more about lawsuit funding? Please visit us today and you may apply online for lawsuit funding and learn more about the benefits of lawsuit funding.

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