What’s Important In The Financial World

Sony (NYSE: SNE) said it would finally turn around is prospects and make money in the next year. Bumbling CEO Sir Howard Stringer is gone. Sony’s core problems are not. It is still in the TV screen business, which has become one of commodity products with no price leverage. Its takeover of the part of Sony Ericsson it does not already own puts its handset business into competition with Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL). It has a tiny PC business. And its game console operations compete with Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) and Nintendo. Otherwise, its prospects are excellent.

Angela Merkel continues to dig in her heels as Greece insist it may reject the austerity measure which have allowed it to get loan support from its eurozone neighbors and the IMF. A portion of the money meant to prop up it prospects is being held back by the EU while the size of the crisis is measured. Merkel said that the “growth of credit” in the regions would undermine plans to solve the financial problems of some nations. Put another way, these countries will have to live with austerity or face the prospects that there will be no aid to help them move deficits down and begin to control national debt

The luxury car market around the world continues to explode as the relatively small portion of the globe’s population which is rich consumer at extraordinary levels. VW reports that its goal to sell 1.5 million Audis will happen sooner than expect because of buyers in the US and China. Audi is the manufacturer’s luxury brand. BMW and Mercedes are also near record sales globally. In the US, GM’s (NYSE: GM) Cadillac has sold briskly. Clawing for part of a market they once held Toyota’s (NYSE: TM)’s Lexus brand, Nissan’s Infiniti, and Honda’s (NYSE: HMC) Acura have begun to invest in new models which mimic features of more successful rivals.

Douglas A. McIntyre