[Christine Tham]

I agree, and BTW Sony made a $250 million profit in the last quarter and Amazon lost money so I guess Amazon is history.

Plus Sony's stock price has doubled from two years ago. Clearly no one bothered telling Sony investors about the "problems" that Sony is apparently facing.

Either that, or investors don't spend any time reading gadget sites.

[Rondec]

Plus Sony's stock price has doubled from two years ago. Clearly no one bothered telling Sony investors about the "problems" that Sony is apparently facing.

Either that, or investors don't spend any time reading gadget sites.

I think there is a little hyper inflation of different stock prices. A little bit of a bubble. I don't know which of Sony's businesses are profitable and which ones aren't, but that is the question, isn't it?

[jatrax]

You make this sound as if Pentax ignoring its customers like that is a good thing. Imagine going to the farmacy, asking for your bloodpressure medicine, and the farmacist replying: "Sorry no, but here's some sunscreen lotion instead. No? Midol perhaps? Zoloft? Ohw, now I know: liquid strawberry flavoured antacid?" You'd think the man had gone completely bonkers.

I didn't say anything about customers at all. Only that they seem to be innovating products into niches that are not well served. Whether those niches are things their customers want and will buy is a completely different conversation. It does seem they focus more on being where the competition is not rather than where their customers (defined as posters on PF) want them to be. So the question to ask is does Ricoh think the PF posters are their future customer base or old customers still asking for things that are well supplied in the market by other companies. If their focus going forward is on products that are not desirable to their "old customers" then it is likely they will continue to lose that customer base. But if they are gaining "new customers" in areas they feel they are more competitive in then that is where they will go. The purpose of a company is to make money, not keep customers happy. Usually those things coincide, but not always.

So I can admire the strategic thinking as good guerrilla tactics, always be where the other guy is not, but at the same time feel concerned that Pentax going forward is going to leave it's traditional user base behind. If this is true, then we either adapt to what they are offering or buy into a brand that serves our needs.

[Christine Tham]

I think there is a little hyper inflation of different stock prices. A little bit of a bubble. I don't know which of Sony's businesses are profitable and which ones aren't, but that is the question, isn't it?

According to their latest quarterly earnings, all divisions are profitable except for their PC business, which they are selling. All this and more you could have found out from the link I posted in the first post.

If you believe that there is "little hyper inflation" (this sounds like an oxymoron to me, but hey ...) you should put your money where your mouth is and short the stock.

Personally, I don't think Sony is entirely out of the woods yet, but clearly they have had a good quarter and are optimistic for rest of year.

I wouldn't buy any Sony stock, I think the "good news" is already baked into the stock price, but I wouldn't short it either.

[Rondec]

According to their latest quarterly earnings, all divisions are profitable except for their PC business, which they are selling. All this and more you could have found out from the link I posted in the first post.

If you believe that there is "little hyper inflation" (this sounds like an oxymoron to me, but hey ...) you should put your money where your mouth is and short the stock.

Personally, I don't think Sony is entirely out of the woods yet, but clearly they have had a good quarter and are optimistic for rest of year.

I wouldn't buy any Sony stock, I think the "good news" is already baked into the stock price, but I wouldn't short it either.

Hey, I'm just a guy on the internet. My opinion is as valid or, weak as most everybody out there. I own mutual funds, but no individual stocks. But that's what you get when you post this sort of stuff on a photography forum. If you want folks with a lot of knowledge, then choosing a different forum might be worthwhile.

[Christine Tham]

Hey, I'm just a guy on the internet. My opinion is as valid or, weak as most everybody out there. I own mutual funds, but no individual stocks. But that's what you get when you post this sort of stuff on a photography forum. If you want folks with a lot of knowledge, then choosing a different forum might be worthwhile.

Wasn't criticising your opinion at all, and hey you may even be correct.

At least you are not making up and claiming "problems" by quoting from out of date non-credible sources. For that I am thankful.

[clackers]

Maybe because I don't describe things that aren't true?

Your sin is omission, Christine.


If you wanted to give an objective comparison of Sony's problems, it wasn't in your post, I'm afraid.

By the way, Sony's building in North Ryde is up for lease as well. However, I am failing to see exactly why selling non-productive assets is a "problem", as I pointed out earlier.

The sale is needed because Sony's credit is junk.


Prime real estate (ie Tokyo) is a great investment but selling it is one of the few ways to find cash to operate when conventional means are too expensive.


Sony Credit Cut To Junk Status As Smartphones 'Cannibalize' Its TV And PC Businesses - Forbes


You're an Aussie - this is 'selling the farm'.

---------- Post added 09-01-14 at 04:09 PM ----------

And what exactly does that have to do with the Sony full frame cameras that I have ?

(Laughs).

Jogiba,weren't you banned for lying or swearing or being unsocial or some such?


Whatever - welcome back!

---------- Post added 09-01-14 at 04:18 PM ----------

LOL - what did you expect from someone who is linking to PCWorld and some unknown gadget site?

Oh, this is rich - going the credibility of those journalists rather than what they've reported.


Please point out their errors - just take the Sony T-shirt from CES off first, if that's okay with you.

---

Last edited by clackers; 08-31-2014 at 11:23 PM.

[jogiba]

Jogiba,weren't you banned for lying or swearing or being unsocial or some such?

Show me a link to were I was lying or swearing. Unsocial ? I guess that is when you don't worship the Pentax /Ricoh God on every post.

[philbaum]

The report of my death was an exaggeration. - Mark Twain.

Somehow Japanese companies don't die off when they are supposed to - they just keep on going. It was Sony that bailed out Olympus last time.

That same report by Forbes, last sentence:

Despite the company’s business struggles, it ended 2013 with a whopping 50.2% return.

It would be a much more boring world without Sony.

[Christine Tham]

The report of my death was an exaggeration. - Mark Twain.

Somehow Japanese companies don't die off when they are supposed to - they just keep on going. It was Sony that bailed out Olympus last time.

LOL

Funny, isn't it, that a company whose credit is claimed to be "junk" apparently found enough cash during their deepest darkest time to bail out another company.

Meanwhile, back in the real world, here is a link to Sony's *current* bond ratings:
Sony Global - Corporate Bonds & Ratings