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11:43 AAPL Apple Computer unable to meet rising MacBook demand - AppleInsider (67.16 -0.46)
AppleInsider reports the co is once again facing a problem that it has become all too familiar with -- not enough supply of its most popular products to meet growing demand. In particular, the co this month is reportedly struggling to fill orders for its consumer-oriented MacBook notebooks, which are arguably its most popular new product of the year.
Weighing on the co is the back-to-school shopping bonanza. This year, Apple's MacBooks are being billed as a hot ticket, but the co (or one of its component suppliers) has seemingly underestimated demand. Many customers who were expecting to receive previously-placed orders for Intel notebooks by this week got something else instead -- an apology letter from Apple stating that it would be unable to fill orders within the timeframe it had promised.
It's unclear how far back the MacBook backlog stretches, but customers who custom-configured their systems with added memory and hard drive space are reporting delays up to two weeks from when they first placed their orders.
After years of legal protection for their predatory behavior, Microsoft doesn't know how to do things right in a competitive market.
As for their deep pockets, that only means they they can afford to do more things wrong, and/or waste more money in the process.
09:34 AAPL Apple Computer retains huge lead in music player market - InfoWorld (67.65 -0.33)
InfoWorld reports continued to lead the U.S. digital music player market in the second quarter with a 75.6% share, according to the NPD Group. But its hard to tell if Apple will be able to maintain its sizable lead as mobile phone cos continue to put out handsets with built-in music players.
A number of analysts have warned that the digital music player mkt could go the way of the P.D.A., which saw growth drop off once mobile phone cos introduced smart phones, handsets with P.D.A. functionality. SanDisk (SNDK) followed Apple in the second quarter ranking with a 9.7% mkt share, according to the NPD Group, while Creative Technology (CREAF) took third with 4.3% of the U.S. digital music player mkt.
Welcome to the IH Apple board.
08:00 DELL Dell set to recall even more batteries - Inquirer.net (21.07 )
Inquirer.net reports reliable sources said mass recalls of batteries for notebooks will continue to shock the industry for many years to come. But a mass recall of batteries for Dell notebooks is likely this coming week. In the past couple of years, the industry has witnessed a recall of over 15 mln batteries for notebooks, and the number certainly won't stop there. The latest manufacturer set to make a further recall this Tuesday is Dell, sources claim. While the number isn't finalized yet, it's a big number, the source claims. Dell is prepping all of the sales and marketing people "to battle stations," so that the switch goes smoothly and without negative publicity. According to the source, the announcement, slated for Tuesday, is based on the pure physics of battery cells in notebooks.
09:57 AAPL Apple Computer: Believe there is no new news in the filing today - Soleil (63.35 -0.72) -Update-
Soleil believes there has been some confusion this morning regarding statements made in today's SEC filing by Apple. The firm believes there is no new news in the filing today - which they have confirmed through conversations with the company. They note the NT 10Q states that Apple will be delaying its F3Q06 10Q as it investigates stock options expensing which has already been reported.
However, the filing also states, "The Company anticipates that there will be significant changes in the results of operations for the quarter ended July 1, 2006 compared to the quarter ended June 25, 2005, including significant increases in the Company's revenue and expenses." They say this is purely a poorly worded statement saying that quarterly results are up y/y - not new news and does not mean that they will have to make changes to F3Q06 results.
08:23 AAPL Jobs talks up Apple cell phone - AppleInsider (64.07 )
AppleInsider reports co chief executive Steve Jobs has been boasting about his co's much-rumored iPod cell phone amongst inner circles. The remarks are uncharacteristic of Jobs, who is often regarded for his obsession with secrecy -- especially when it comes to unannounced products from his own co.
But it's been said that Jobs' own excitement over the device has produced a number of zealous ramblings amongst personal acquaintances dating back to this spring. One person familiar with the ongoings believes the AAPL co-founder has commissioned the release of cell phone prototypes to at least two potential OEM manufacturing partners in recent months.
Current designs are said to conform to the co's integrated model and leverage its tightly-knit digital media franchises, that person added. Speaking on conditions of anonymity, a second informant has told AppleInsider of an incremental buzz surrounding the phone, which has heightened in recent weeks. The informant has said the device is slated to turn up earlier than some people may be expecting, in the form of a "big bang" introduction that will catch even some insiders off-guard.
10:00 AAPL Apple Computer likely to allow movie transfers to DVD - AppleInsider (63.80 +0.21)
AppleInsider reports the co is atop the list of merchants that could soon start to allow video downloads to be transferred onto DVDs. According to the Associated Press, the DVD Copy Control Association is set to remove some of the procedural hurdles that prevented the legal recording of movies onto blank DVDs. The move, expected to be finalized soon, would allow retailers to create movie jukebox kiosks with which customers can select movie titles and burn them to a DVD on the spot, the report states.
The impending changes are said to rely heavily on the DVD Copy Control Association's proprietary technology known as the Content Scramble System. "The association, an arm of Hollywood studios, licenses the encryption technology to makers of DVD players and other electronics companies and applies it widely to movies on DVDs to restrict illegal copying," the AP reported. The group said it will soon expand licensing to movies other than those that are mass produced on DVD, such as digitally distributed on demand titles. It's also working with disc makers to produce CSS-compatible blank DVDs.
07:56 AAPL Stock grant probe sends Apple execs seeking counsel - AppleInsider (63.59 )
AppleInsider reports current and former execs of the co are hiring legal counsel in the face of an ongoing govt investigation into the backdating of executive stock grants. According to a report on Law.com, the San Francisco U.S. Attorney's Office has been investigating whether AAPL and other Silicon Valley cos changed the dates on stock option grants to employees in order to maximize executive payouts.
Nancy Heinen, the co's longtime general counsel who departed from the co earlier this year, has reportedly hired East Bay defense lawyers Cristina Arguedas and Miles Ehrlich to represent her in connection with the probe. Meanwhile, AAPL as a co has hired George Riley, a partner with O'Melveny & Myers, to represent it before the govt. The ongoing govt probe has so far lead to two proactive admissions by the co, each of which were closely followed by lawsuits from investors. To date, a total of three suits have been filed.
13:28 AAPL Apple Computer introduces Macintosh server; to ship Macintosh workstation -- DJ (69.14 +0.84) -Update-
07:47 AAPL Apple and Coke team on music promotions in Europe (67.18 )
Coca-Cola (KO) and AAPL announce a music partnership in Europe that includes major promotions in the U.K. and Germany and the launch of a new Coke branded music Web site across Europe.
Cos plan to give away 70 mln free songs from the iTunes Music Store in the UK and thousands of iPods in Germany. Cos say live concerts will be held in the U.K., Germany, Austria and Switzerland; cos will also make selected live songs and video podcasts available from the performances on iTunes and a KO Web site.
9:02 AAPL Apple Computer: Amtech comments on upcoming WWDC keynote speech; believes near-term upside could be difficult (67.96 )
Amtech notes that Steve Jobs is scheduled to deliver his WWDC keynote speech in San Francisco on August 7, 2006. Based on the firm's analysis, they continue to believe this keynote will most likely be Mac-centric and anticipate that its pro desktop will move to INTC, making the transition essentially 100% complete.
While they believe AAPL will most likely go the "safer" route with Boot Camp, their analysis indicates that there is great customer demand for a seamless way to run Windows simultaneously on Mac. Even if AAPL chooses not to go "virtual", users can purchase Parallels Desktop, which offers this capability; and while they would like to see AAPL refresh its iPods sooner than later, they continue to believe the probability is low that new iPods will be announced at this event.
They continue to see late September-October as more likely. Firm says that given the recent fast and furious 35% appreciation in AAPL shares helped by newfound enthusiasm, they believe near-term upside could be difficult and would not be surprised to see a relief pull-back, particularly if investors find AAPL's announcements disappointing.
06:59 MSFT Microsoft's new iPod killer facing ad cash clash - NY Post (24.06 )
NY Post reports as the co considers how to wage its upcoming war against Apple (AAPL) and its all-powerful iPod, the tech giant may run into unlikely enemies: the broadcast and cable networks it needs to supply music and videos. Just last week, as licensing deals were close to being signed, the co called up some content providers and said the video portion of its Zune device - the co's so-called iPod killer - was being delayed, sources said.
At the same time, the co indicated to entertainment industry execs that it may push to give away downloads but rake advertising cash from its planned site instead of the pay-per-episode model iTunes uses, according to an exec close to the negotiations. This would land television bigwigs in another pitched battle - this time to win advertising dollars from the co and other tech companies that are putting the networks' shows on a dizzying array of new gadgets. One high-level entertainment exec said the television industry has "an interest in building a competitor to the iPod." However, this person added, "it gets a little dicier when trying to compete for ad dollars."
09:39 AAPL China market: iPod not competitive with top local brands - Digitimes (66.65 +1.06)
Digitimes reports Apple Computer's iPod MP3 players, despite their dominance in the global market, ranked only fifth in terms of sales volume in China in June of this year for a market share of 4.29%, according to China-based CCID Consulting.
The top three brands in June were all China-based, while Samsung and Taiwan-based MSI (Micro-Star International) and BenQ ranked fourth, eighth and ninth, respectively, according to the research firm, which noted that local brands cooperated with retail channels better than foreign brands.
08:09 AAPL Apple Computer: Upgrade details (65.59 ) -Update-
As mentioned at 6:22, BofA upgraded AAPL to Buy from Neutral and raises their tgt to $79 from $68 saying that channel checks show higher end demand for MacBooks than their previous checks. Firm is encouraged that Street expectations have moved lower for iPods, which was part of the reason for their downgrade in Dec 05.
Firm sees the same product introduction schedule as they have mentioned previously - a new Nano late in the Sept Q and modestly upgraded Video in Q4, in time for a holiday demand. Further EPS upside potential from iPod of $0.08-0.12. Also, firm is not including the impact of an AAPL phone, which could be $0.03-0.05 in F07.
12:22 AAPL Apple Computer: iPods built to last 4 years - AppleInsider (64.07 +0.20)
AppleInsider reports although there have been several accounts in which the iconic music players have been called faulty devices, co spokeswoman Natalie Kerris recently told the Chicago Tribune that iPods have a failure rate of less than 5%, which she said is "fairly low" compared with other consumer electronics. "The vast majority of our customers are extremely happy with their iPods," Kerris said, adding that the co builds the players to last four years.
However, a survey conducted by Macintouch last year found that out of nearly 9,000 iPods owned by more than 4,000 respondents, more than 1,400 of the players had failed. The survey concluded that the failure rate was 13.7%, stemming from an equal mix of hard drive and battery related issues.
The co's fairly recent decision to embrace solid-state NAND flash memory at the core of its most popular iPod models, rather than hard disk drives, is likely to improve failure rates. Flash memory lacks the moveable parts contained inside hard disks, making the storage medium significantly more durable. According to the Macintouch survey, flash-based iPod shuffles and iPod nanos indeed sport a much lower failure rate than their hard disk drive-based counterparts.
Office of Strategic Services. You know, Bill Donavan, Allen Dulles, and that bunch.
Not to mention adequate RAM.
Although the DOJ and the Courts were completely innefective against MSFT, the publicity revealed their buillying and bakckmail for what it is (“How much do we have to pay you to screw Netscape?”). MSFT has never been able to compete on a level playing field, much less against Steve Jobs. There’s nothing and nobody in Redmond that suggests things have changed.
08:23 AAPL Apple Computer: Microsoft's (MSFT) Zune music player poses only a modest threat to the iPod - Needham (60.72 )
Needham notes that Microsoft (MSFT) announced the long-rumored year-end introduction of Zune, its music player that copies Apple's (AAPL) iPod. Zune should enjoy some success because of MSFT's marketing muscle. But the big losers are likely to be MSFT's partners who have standardized on Windows Media Player. AAPL should be relatively immune. MSFT is great at copying but it trails AAPL badly in innovation. And it does not have a genius like Steve Jobs leading the parade. MSFT will undoubtedly gain some market share given its huge marketing muscle and ability to sustain losses indefinitely. AAPL should escape relatively unscathed. Given AAPL's focus on easy-to-use, seamlessly integrated products and its uncanny understanding of the consumer, firm believes MSFT will be forced to forever play a catch-up.
Yes. It's been interesting to see the EU stand up to MS when the US DoJ and Courts have been so pathetic.
18:48 MSFT Microsoft confirms plan to take on Apple's iPod - Reuters (23.87 1.02)
Microsoft confirms plan to take on Apple's iPod -- Reuters & EngadgetAccording to Reuters, Microsoft (MSFT) said on Friday it plans to release a new music and entertainment player and accompanying software under the "Zune" brand this year, in a belated attempt to challenge the dominance of Apple Computer Inc.'s (AAPL) iPod player. Microsoft confirmed the plans for an entertainment device and software in a statement after touting those products to record companies in recent months. Music industry sources told Reuters earlier this month that Microsoft disclosed plans to be in the market before Christmas with a media player that will allow users to download videos and music wirelessly. It will also try to replicate Apple's simple approach to providing an integrated, seamless ecosystem for digital media is seen as the key to its success with iPod/iTunes, the sources said. Microsoft did not disclose pricing for the new media player or whether it would be willing to take losses on the hardware to make money from the sale of music, video and possibly games. This is the strategy it adopted with Xbox game console. Microsoft sources said Robbie Bach, president of Microsoft's entertainment and devices division, is working with J Allard, vice president of its Xbox team, on the digital media player/software project. Allard's involvement is seen as significant because he is one of the few executives at Microsoft with experience in launching a consumer electronic device from scratch with the X-Box gaming system. His involvement suggests that gaming might be part of the media player. From Engadget: The Zune media device will be drive-based, and have WiFi; The service and device will not be PlaysForSure compliant, meaning you will not be able to use your Zune player with Napster (NAPS) or Vongo, for example. This will be an entirely new system. Microsoft will continue to support and develop for their PlaysForSure initiative, but all things PlaysForSure are handled by two entirely separate division that will not have any crossover.
08:42 AAPL Apple Computer tgt upped to $80 from $77 at UBS following Q3 results above expectations (54.10 ) -Update-
17:59 AAPL Apple Computer Conference Call Summary (54.10 +1.20) -Update-
Intel-based Mac accounted for 70% of Mac sales... Co says gross margins expansion was due to favorable product mix; Mac product rev increased 11% y/y... believes people have delayed orders of Macs waiting for the Intel-based products... Co says that they are limited to what they can say regarding new products; says very confident of products in pipeline and says they have a hard time believing that the creativity can be low... co says expect the commodity environment to continue; expect gross margins to decline due to promotions for back to school... Co says that from the data they have seen, the U.S. consumer is holding up well... co says revs guidance range represents growth of 22-25% y/y (notes last year was best mac sale for Back to school that they had ever had)... co says have not announced the ship dates for Leopard; notes Aug 6th their technology conference starts and they will begin to make product announcements at that point... co says average store sales was down slightly y/y as a result of iPod sales being relatively flat y/y... co says does not release specific gross margins; notes iPod gross margin was up in JunQ and says that was due to a favorable commodity market; co says will continue to be aggressive on pricing; targeting gross margin in the 27-28% range... Says promotions did not play a significant role in JunQ sales for iPod... co says that they are in a few of the Best Buy stores... co says have gotten more aggressive outside the U.S.; notes they saw share gains in European countries... co says released the beat for Boot Camp in April and so far the number of downloads have been 'significant'... asked if there will be any surprises at the developers conference, co responds you will have to come to the event... stock is trading at $58.74 in after hours... call has ended.
09:31 Further msPod rumors emerge - Inquirer.net (22.65 +0.17)
An Inquirer.net columnist reports "Many more facts and rumours are emerging concerning Microsoft's planned foray into Apple's (AAPL) ubiquitous iPod territory. After previously revealing the product's name as 'Zune', several websites are reporting that ZuneLive.com has been registered by a Microsoft employee who has previously registered other domains such as Live.com and MicrosoftGadgets.com. Furthermore, Digital Music News has revealed that the player will launch in November in the US and come with 30gb of storage with pricing similar to the 60gb iPod - approximately $399. Global launch dates are to be revealed, but suggest an early 2008 release... Interestingly the new player and its accompanying newly developed PC-based media player, will be "incompatible with other Windows Media services," forcing focus on one device, one jukebox and one music store, similar to the iPod/iTunes combination. Xbox connectivity is also perceived as a huge selling point, allowing Microsoft to further engage their gaming audience. Sources stated that the volePod will include WiFi functionality but will impose various limitations on sharing..."
08:55 AAPL Apple Computer: Amtech previews June quarter results (50.67 ) -Update-
Amtech notes that AAPL will report its June quarter results this Wednesday after the close. The firm continues to anticipate AAPL to report results at the upper-end, if not exceed, its guidance of $4.2-4.4 bln and $0.39-0.42 (they are in-line with consensus at $4.4 bln and $0.44). In terms of units, they are modeling 8.3 mln iPods and 1.2 mln Macs. For the September quarter, they continue to believe that consensus revenue of $5 bln, looking for 13% Q/Q growth, is unreasonably aggressive. Firm believes this stance is no longer a surprise now that their then non-consensus view that new Nanos will likely ship in October, or late September at the earliest, has become more widely accepted. Given AAPL's conservative bent, they think AAPL will likely guide to $4.6 bln in revenue, or 5% Q/Q growth helped by back-to-school but offset by weaker European seasonality. With AAPL shares off about 22% since its last earnings report, they think expectations are fairly muted. They believe there is an over-discounting of AAPL's fundamentals and growth prospects that remain among the strongest in large-cap tech.
10:43 AAPL AppleInsider publishes article on Apple investor suit (55.14 +0.14)
AppleInsider reports co CEO Steve Jobs, former co CEO Michael Spindler as well as other high-profile co execs are named in the most recent investor lawsuit over stock option grant irregularities and may be forced to return the monies they made from grants received as part the co's executive stock compensation plan, if the lawsuit is successful. Details of the lawsuit, which were exclusively obtained by AppleInsider this week, reveal that the allegations extend to the highest mgmt levels, including former CFO and current board member Fred Anderson, iPod chief Jon Rubenstien, former Chief Technology Office Avi Tevanian, current Vice President of Retail Operations Ron Johnson, and current Executive Vice President and COO Tim Cook. It also names as defendants all members of the co's current Board of Directors, with the exception of Former Vice President Al Gore. In total, the lawsuit alleges that 18 executives and directors manipulated the option grant dates of certain stock options to maximize their own profits from the co's stock compensation plan, violating Generally Accepted Accounting Principles as well as its own shareholder-approved stock plan. Upper mgmt also, it claims, intentionally provided false documentation to the SEC.
09:55 AAPL Apple Computer: France approves iTunes law - WSJ (57.22 -1.75)
WSJ reports French lawmakers gave final approval Friday to legislation that could force the co to make its iPod and iTunes Music Store compatible with rivals' music players and online services. Both the Senate and the National Assembly, France's lower house, voted in favor of the copyright bill, which some analysts said could cause the co and others to pull their music players and online download stores from France. The vote was the final legislative step before the bill becomes law -- barring the success of a last-ditch constitutional challenge filed last week by the opposition Socialists. The final compromise asserts that companies should share the required technical data with any rival that wants to offer compatible music players and online stores, but it toned down many of the tougher measures backed by lower-house lawmakers early on. It also maintained a loophole introduced by senators, which could allow the co and others to dodge the data-sharing demands by striking new deals with record labels and artists.
08:58 AAPL Apple Computer: Color on options investigation (58.97 )
Piper Jaffray says that they have gone back on Apple (AAPL) and found 1 of 13 grants from 1997-2001 to be noteworthy, issued 5 yrs ago to Steve Jobs. Firm says this does not impact AAPL's underlying fundamentals and would view the pullback as a buying opportunity ahead of what they believe will be favorable back-to-school and holidays periods for AAPL... Soleil says the irregularities with the issuance of stock options during 1997 through 2001 obviously creates uncertainty in the stock. Firm assume that the SEC will likely follow up with subpoenas for information. Co told firm that they were working as quickly as possible to investigate and provide information to investors. Firm expects the stock to be choppy as we get closer to earnings and with today's announcement. However, we continue to believe that Apple should have a strong 2H following the migration of its product line to INTC and that the stock provides one of the best growth opportunities in large-cap tech... AmTech says AAPL announced that during its internal investigation, it discovered potential irregularities related to the issuance of certain stock option grants made between 1997 and 2001, including one to Steve Jobs that was not exercised but converted into restricted stock in March 2003. It also announced that it has proactively sent its findings to the SEC. Firm believes that even in the worst case scenario Steve Jobs is not liable. The reason being the compensation committee at AAPL is run by an independent board who are not employees of AAPL.
I suspect it's this.
AP: Iraq insurgents offer to stop attacks
By STEVEN R. HURST and QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA, Associated Press Writers 1 hour, 32 minutes ago
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Eleven Sunni insurgent groups have offered to halt attacks on the U.S.-led military if the Iraqi government and President Bush set a two-year timetable for withdrawing all foreign troops from the country, insurgent and government officials told The Associated Press on Wednesday.
The demand is part of a broad offer from the groups, who operate north of Baghdad in the heavily Sunni Arab provinces of Salahuddin and Diyala. Although much of the fighting has been to the west, those provinces have become increasingly violent and the attacks there have regularly crippled oil and commerce routes.
* * *
AAPL Apple Computer: New iPods likely delayed; consensus estimates continue to be unreasonable; reducing tgt to $75 - AmTech (57.43 ) -Update-09:16
AmTech says that over the past month, there has been speculation that new iPods could face delays. Firm shares some perspective and insight from their proprietary analysis: 1) firm previously believed that new nanos and the widescreen vPod could ship in calendar Q3 and Q4 of this year respectively. However, they now believe that both are likely delayed; 2) for the new nanos, firm now anticipates the December quarter as more likely as they believe the delay is related to an S.O.C. change from PLAY to another supplier; and 3) on the widescreen vPod, they are picking up that battery life continues to be the key gating factor that could delay its release until 1H07 from Q4. Firm believes AAPL is exploring different ways to improve battery life including using both N.A.N.D. flash and microdrives. For FY07, firm models $22.1 bln and $2.45, below consensus of $23.6 bln and $2.58. Firm cuts tgt $75 from $101.
09:17 Newspaper Notable Mentions ... ThinkSecret: Apple Computer (AAPL) will staff Best Buy (BBY) locations selling its computers with its own employees; ChinaTechNews: Foxconn, an original equipment manufacturer for Apple's (AAPL) iPod, has admitted that their employees work about 80 extra hours each month, which is against the law in China;
08:16 AAPL Citigroup adds AAPL to their Recommended List (58.83)
09:13 YHOO Yahoo!: Hearing Merrill out speculating on the possibility that MSFT could acquire YHOO (30.68)
08:39 AAPL Apple Computer: Amtech comments on MSFT speculation; believe concerns are overblown (57.20 )
Amtech notes there has been renewed speculation that MSFT could design and market its own portable hardware device similar to an iPod. They believe the biggest issue with MSFT entering the portable hardware business is that it puts it in direct competition with its partners. While the focus is on AAPL, they believe this move will likely have a much larger competitive impact on CREAF, Sony, Samsung, MTV Networks, and others.
They believe concerns that AAPL would be in grave danger should MSFT pursue a vertically integrated model are overblown for a couple reasons: 1) they believe AAPL's vertical model is tough to execute with not many companies (if any) succeeding; 2) AAPL has a large installed base of about 50 mln iPods and 300 mln iTunes users; 3) AAPL's competitive advantages are largely defendable; and 4) AAPL is pursuing a longer term broader strategy beyond iPods. With AAPL shares trading at 22x their CY07 EPS of $2.59 (18x excluding net cash), they find the risk-reward favorable and believe lower expectations are priced in at these levels.
FLASH from the murky coffee internet cafe in Arlington, Virginia.
Of 31 laptops on line thie morning 20 are macs.
It is happening!
Hapiness is open wireless broadband and chocolate croissants.
08:56 Amtech comments on AAPL's cell phone plans (57.00 ) -Update-
Amtech says while they firmly believe that AAPL has been working on cell phone technology, they believe its much hyped imminent entry is overdone. From the firm's understanding, for AAPL to enter the cell phone market in the USA, it needs approval from the FCC. They believe a filing would be required at least three months prior to an actual product launch. They believe one of the issues that is taking AAPL some time to figure out is its go-to-market strategy. It could participate the traditional way by partnering with carriers like Cingular. However, they believe AAPL is also exploring a vertically integrated model and user experience similar to both its iPod + iTunes and Mac businesses. Firm thinks with a mobile virtual network operator, AAPL would have tighter control over the user experience. They think AAPL could enter the cell phone market as early as mid-2007, but more likely in 2008-2009. In the meantime, firm anticipates MOT to continue introducing iTunes cell phones and AAPL could sign up new iTunes OEMs.
You're spot on. As far as you go. I would add a Fed that seems determined to repeat the destructive interest rate cycle that peaked in 2000.
Here in Maine it's become fasionable to take your own canvas bags to the grocery store. Some stores will pay you .05 for each canvas bag you use.
Microsoft-led coalition bands against Apple iPod - 09:29
RegHardware reports Microsoft (MSFT), Toshiba, JVC, NTT DoCoMo, Creative, iRiver and three other cos have banded together in a bid to prevent Apple's iPod from completely dominating the Japanese portable music player mkt. The nine cos yesterday said they would cooperate to promote Windows Media-based music and video services in a programme not unlike the Plays For Sure scheme MSFT launched in 2004. The cos will all stress how compatible their respective software, devices and services are and how well they all work with Windows PCs. The move follows the launch of a Japanese version of the Windows Media Player 11 beta release. Certainly, computer downloads are becoming increasingly popular in Japan, accounting for 10% of music download sales in Q1, according to figures published by the Recording Industry Association of Japan this week. That figure is up from 4.7% in Q1 2005, the organization said. Apple launched its iTunes Music Store in Japan in August 2005, and it's been leading the growth in demand for music downloads to computers. But such downloads accounted for just 6.7% of all the songs downloaded in Q1, up from 2.1% a year earlier.