Killuminati : Tupac exposing the illuminati
Friday, September 24, 2010
Flat-screen TV Prices to Plunge for Holiday Season
Flat-screen TV Prices to Plunge for Holiday Season
by David Goldman
By the end of this month, LCD TV prices will be about 5% lower than they were at the same time last year, according research firm DisplaySearch. But a tailspin will start in October: In the last three months of the year, the firm forecasts that prices will keep falling until they bottom out at 12% below 2009 levels.
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| 32-Inch LCD TV Average Price In some blowout sales, the price slash could be even more dramatic. On Black Friday this year, 32-inch LCD TVs will drop to an average price of between $249 and $299, with the best deals as low as $199, according to a prediction from research firm iSuppli. The 32-inch LCD TVs currently sell for $349 to $399, on average, with the cheapest model (Emerson's LC320EMX) selling for $300. The forecasted price plunge stems from an enormous surplus of LCD panels that has accumulated over the first nine months of the year. Shipments of the panels rose to 52 million in the second quarter, but only 38.7 million TVs were actually shipped to retailers, according to iSuppli. That 36% inventory gap piles on top of a 25% oversupply in the first quarter. Those figures are higher than anything seen in 2009 -- which was also an awful year for flat-screen TVs. Sales were were so bad last year that prices fell by as much as 30%, according to DisplaySearch. Why is the supply chain so overstuffed? Because demand for flat-screen TVs has been sluggish this year, thanks in part to manufacturers' decision to hold back on price chops. The average selling price for LCD TVs even increased in July, as larger TVs and those with Internet and 3-D capabilities were added to the mix. Prices finally starting to fall in August -- after this summer's World Cup proved to be a much smaller sales catalyst than TV makers had hoped. "Manufacturers were playing a game of chicken, hoping demand would be there and reluctant to be the first one to let prices fall," said Paul Gagnon, director of TV research at DisplaySearch. "Only recently did they come to the shocking realization that prices needed to fall. That will have a good impact on holiday sales." Like many consumers, flat-screen TV shoppers are becoming increasingly budget-conscious -- especially as the economy shows signs of slowing down. But there is also evidence that consumers have pent-up demand for TVs. LED TVs, which use a different backlight technology than LCD TVs, were aggressively priced in the beginning of the year and actually sold better than expected, according to Sweta Dash, senior director of LCD Research at iSuppli. Once big discounts start hitting retailers, demand for LCD TVs will jump up aggressively, Gagnon predicted. But consumers should act fast. The supply chain is beginning to correct itself, iSuppli found. Those kinds of recalibrations generally take about three months to be realized at the retail level. That means prices will likely bottom out at the end of this year or the beginning of 2011. |
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Two Russians detained on suspicion of spying for China
Two Russians detained on suspicion of spying for China
By Sapa-AFP
Two Russian scientists are being held in a high-security Moscow prison while being investigated on suspicion of spying for China, a lawyer for one of the scientists said Wednesday.
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| Handcuffs |
Lefortovo is a high-security prison in Moscow used by the KGB in the Soviet times and by its successor FSB, or the Federal Security Service, since 1995.
On Wednesday, Bobyshev’s defence lost an appeal against his pre-trial detention, the Interfax news agency reported, citing Moscow City Court.
The two men teach at Voenmekh University in Saint Petersburg, an engineering school with a military slant, working in a department that specialised in technical equipment for rockets and space vehicles.
They also lectured at China’s Harbin Technical University as part of an exchange programme.
Bobyshev’s daughter said Wednesday that the claims were absurd.
“My father read lectures whose entire content was checked a thousand times. All of his colleagues are shocked,” Bobyshev’s daughter Yekaterina told AFP.
“I am sure this case is part of FSB’s spy mania,” she said.
Voenmekh University refused to comment on the case on Wednesday.
The charge of high treason could lead to a jail sentence of up to 20 years.
The detentions come after a number of scientists and academics have been jailed on grounds of espionage in recent years.
Arms expert Igor Sutyagin was convicted in 2004 of handing over classified information to a British company that Russia claimed was a CIA cover, and sentenced to 15 years in jail, although he denied his guilt.
He was freed as part of a high-profile spy swap this summer, when 10 Russian agents were flown back from the United States after their embarrassing exposure.
Israeli Delegation No-Show for Obama UN Address; Jewish Holiday...
Israeli Delegation No-Show for Obama UN Address; Jewish Holiday...
Niall Ferguson: Empires on the Edge of Chao
Niall Ferguson: Empires on the Edge of Chaos
**Niall Campbell Douglas Ferguson is a British historian who specialises in financial and economic history as well as the history of colonialism. He is the Laurence A. Tisch Professor of History at Harvard University as well as William Ziegler Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School, and also currently the Philippe Roman Chair in History and International Affairs at the London School of Economics**
Niall Ferguson and Paul Krugman debate the economic future of the global economy on CNN's Fareed Zakaria's GPS
Niall Ferguson vs Paul Krugman on Fareed Zakarias GPS
Harvard University's historian and business school professor Niall Ferguson
Harvard University's historian and business school professor Niall Ferguson
Ahmadinejad: Israeli PM Netanyahu a 'skilled killer'
Ahmadinejad: Israeli PM Netanyahu a 'skilled killer'
Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says the Israeli prime minister is a professional assassin, who should be tried for his crimes against the people of Palestine.
"[Benjamin] Netanyahu should be tried in court for blockading Gaza and massacring innocent Palestinian women and children," Ahmadinejad said in an interview with CNN's Larry King on Wednesday.
"Netanyahu is a professional assassin. All dictators in history accuse others to turn the spotlight away from themselves," the Iranian president said when asked about the Israeli prime minister's worries about Iran.
"It is questionable [why] American media feel responsible for this person (Netanyahu)," Ahmadinejad said, adding that "you (American media) are afraid of Netanyahu's warmongering."
The Iranian president said the US and Israel's nuclear weapons are the main threat to the world, and they are mistaken to think they can divert attention from this issue by using propaganda campaigns and spreading lies about others.
"Iran is firmly after the nuclear disarmament of the US and Israel."
Ahmadinejad added that Israel is an "illegitimate regime" and an "occupier" and that the US easily starts wars and massacres people, "they are not qualified to have nuclear weapons and should be disarmed as soon as possible."
When asked about the fate of a former FBI agent who allegedly disappeared on Kish Island, the Iranian president said a "joint Iranian-American intelligence committee is to investigate the matter."
Robert Levinson, a former FBI agent, disappeared on March 9, 2007 on Kish Island where he was doing investigative work for a private security firm.
US officials have dismissed suggestions that Levinson was on assignment for a US government agency.
Iranian authorities have announced that Tehran has no information on the matter but they stand ready to work with the FBI if asked by Washington.
MYSTERY: Saudi king meets top US, Canadian counter-terror officials...
Saudi king meets top US, Canadian counter-terror officials
Saudi King Abdullah and security czar Prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz have held talks with top intelligence and counter-terror officials from the United States and Canada, the SPA news agency reported.
John Brennan, assistant to US President Barack Obama for homeland security and counter-terrorism, discussed in Jeddah on Sunday "issues that concern the two countries" with King Abdullah, Deputy Interior Minister Prince Mohammed bin Nayef and intelligence chief Prince Muqrin bin Abdul Aziz, the state news agency said without elaborating.
Afterward, Brennan held talks with Saudi Interior Minister Prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz, the country's senior domestic security official for 35 years.
"The meeting focused on the need to ... build strong and fruitful cooperation to reduce the spread of terrorism in all countries in the world, especially in the Middle East, and the importance of working together to fight Al-Qaeda and terrorism," SPA said.
Separately the Saudi king and his security officials met Richard Fadden, director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, to discuss "issues of mutual interest."
The meetings with King Abdullah were also attended by Saudi ambassador to the United States Adel Jubeir, a close advisor to the Saudi king on foreign affairs.
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