sony

Under pressure to respond to competitors offering souped-up features for their video game systems, Nintendo announced Monday that it will offer a sneak peak of the Wii's successor in June. While consumers may love the shiny new system, the real question is how much it will cost.

For investors who want to buy apparel stocks but don't want to support sweatshops, these stock picks offer promising returns AND a strong moral position.

Does Cisco Systems' move to ditch its Flip line of mini video cameras signal that consumers are growing tired of these pocket-sized movie makers? The networking company set plans this week to get out of the pocket video camera business as part of a companywide restructuring. Industry watchers are...

A fall in U.S. applications for unemployment benefits sparked a buying spree in Asia. In Hong Kong the Hang Seng Index gained 1.2%, the Shanghai Composite Index advanced 1.4% and Japan's's Nikkei 225 Index added 1%.

Microsoft soundly beat its 2010 sales forecast for the Kinect, a motion-sensor device that enables players to use body movements -- instead of controllers -- to play games on the Xbox console.

In Hong Kong HSBC shares rose 1.5% before the company's announcement early today in London that it had missed earnings estimates. The gain helped push the Hang Seng Index up 1.4.% In China the Shanghai Composite advanced 0.9% and in Japan the Nikkei 225 Index added 0.9%.

Vizio widened its lead in the U.S. liquid-crystal-display television market in the fourth quarter, according to a new report from research firm iSuppli. Samsung and Sony lost market share from a year ago, although Sony gained ground from the third quarter.

Asian investors brushed aside worries over continuously rising Chinese inflation today, focusing instead on bargain shopping. Energy companies were a major attraction as oil prices surged. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index climbed 1.1% and China's Shanghai Composite Index advanced 0.9%. In Japan the Nikkei 225 Index edged up 0.6%.

China's National Bureau of Statistics reported that the country's consumer price index rose 4.9% in January. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 1% and in China the Shanghai Composite Index remained virtually unchanged. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index inched up 0.2%.

There are warning signs that Hong Kong property prices have hit their peak, and today real estate firms dragged the Hang Seng index lower. Despite the drum beats of the lion dancers specially booked to celebrate Chinese New Year and "guaranteed" to bring prosperity to every business they visit, this year may prove a tough one for Hong Kong developers.