SNE

Each day, Benzinga takes a look back at a notable market-related moment that happened on this date. What Happened? On this day 98 years ago, Akio Morita, co-founder of Sony Corp (ADR) (NYSE: SNE), was born. Where Was The Market? The S&P 500 was trading at 13.40 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was at 157.20. What Else Was Going On In The World? In 1921, Babe Ruth broke the Major League Baseball career home run record by hitting his 138th home run. The Great Famine, one of the worst famines in modern history, struck Russia. A pound of butter cost 55 cents. Groundbreaking Japanese Business Leader: Akio Morita was born in Nagayo, Aichi, Japan and majored in physics at Osaka Imperial University. In 1946, at the age of 25, Morita joined the Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering Corporation with partner Masaru Ibuka. The company developed magnetic recording tape and sold the first tape recorder in Japan in 1950. The company was renamed “Sony” in 1958, a name derived from the Latin word “sonus,” meaning “sound.” Sony made history in the U.S. financial world in 1961 when it became the first Japanese company to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Sony established a massive presence in the U.S. music business in the late 1980s when it acquired CBS Records Group and Columbia Pictures Entertainment. Morita stepped down as chairman of Sony in 1994 after suffering a stroke during a tennis match. He died of pneumonia in 1999 at 78. Today, Sony’s American depository receipts have a market cap of more than $60 billion. Photo by Peter de Wit/Wikimedia. See more from BenzingaClick here for options trades from Benzinga,000, 5 Years Later: How Much Would General Electric Stock Be Worth?Unusually Large Bed, Bath & Beyond Option Traders Bet Big On More Upside© 2021 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

Moody's Investors Service ("Moody's") has completed a periodic review of the ratings of Sony Corporation and other ratings that are associated with the same analytical unit. The review was conducted through a portfolio review discussion held on 19 January 2021 in which Moody's reassessed the appropriateness of the ratings in the context of the relevant principal methodology(ies), recent developments, and a comparison of the financial and operating profile to similarly rated peers. This publication does not announce a credit rating action and is not an indication of whether or not a credit rating action is likely in the near future.

Sony (SNE) closed at $99.28 in the latest trading session, marking a -1.81% move from the prior day.

In this article we are going to list the 15 biggest companies that use AWS. Click to skip ahead and jump to the 5 biggest companies that use AWS. Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) is a multinational technology company based in USA. It is known for its state of the art e-commerce, digital streaming, cloud computing and […]

In response to heavy criticism, Microsoft (MSFT) rescinded a large price hike on Xbox Live Gold memberships the same day it was announced.

(Bloomberg) -- Microsoft Corp. backtracked on a plan to raise the price for subscriptions to Xbox Live Gold, its paid online gaming platform, after outrage from users. The price bump would have doubled the cost of an annual pass and bring a six-month subscription to $60. Last year, Microsoft removed the option for a full-year subscription at that price from the online store. The cost for a monthly subscription will also stay the same.“We messed up today and you were right to let us know,” the company said in a statement. “Connecting and playing with friends is a vital part of gaming and we failed to meet the expectations of players who count on it every day. As a result, we have decided not to change Xbox Live Gold pricing.”The earlier move would have pushed the price of Xbox Live Gold closer to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, a more expensive subscription that also gives access to games and other perks. Game Pass has become central to Microsoft’s strategy to attract loyalty with the recent release of the Xbox Series X console. But gamers were outraged that Microsoft announced the plan to raise the cost of a subscription so drastically, especially during the pandemic, when people have been spending more time on screens than usual and unemployment has risen. Users expressed frustration online, often comparing the subscription cost to Sony Corp.’s PlayStation Plus, which is $60 a year.On Twitter, where the subject was one of the top trending topics on Friday, a gamer named Zay said “Xbox users gotta sell their Xbox just so they can get Xbox live gold.”One user said Microsoft is out of touch with its community and the economic reality.In justifying the earlier move, Microsoft said the price of Xbox Live Gold “has not changed for years and in some markets, it hasn’t changed for over 10 years.”For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2021 Bloomberg L.P.

In this article, we are going to list the 15 biggest VR companies in the world. Click to skip ahead and jump to the 5 biggest VR companies in the world. Virtual Reality (VR) is defined as a computer-generated simulation in which a person can interact within an artificial three-dimensional environment using electronic devices such as a […]

This new virtual reality headset from Facebook (FB) is still blowing my mind — even more so since I last wrote about it two weeks ago. As you can see from the low-res screen shot of my activity below, there’s a lot you can already do on this thing, and it’s only the second pitch of the first inning in what I call The Virtual Reality Revolution. If you consider that Oculus is probably worth no more than maybe $20 billion-$30 billion (Facebook is worth $776 billion, so Oculus might account for about 5% of that value), and Kopin Corp. (KOPN) and a few other pure-ish plays on VR are worth a few billion dollars, we’re talking about a marketplace that Wall Street has totally overlooked.

(Bloomberg) -- Huawei Technologies Co.’s smartphone spinoff unveiled new devices Friday featuring chips from Intel Corp., MediaTek Inc. and Nvidia Corp., saying it reached agreements with its global partners to resume supplies cut off by U.S. sanctions on its former parent.Most of the suppliers of Honor Device Co., the budget phone brand sold by Huawei last November, have resumed doing business with the newly created company, Honor’s chief executive George Zhao said. There’s no restriction when choosing component and software suppliers, said Zhao, adding that it’s in talks with other firms including Qualcomm Inc., Advanced Micro Devices Inc., Micron Technology Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co.Huawei had hived off Honor to a Chinese government-backed consortium last year as the technology giant grappled with Trump administration sanctions that cut off its supply of mobile chipsets. The Shenzhen-based company is said to have safeguarded its core telecom equipment business by stockpiling critical components to continue supplying its home country’s 5G rollout but it lacks inventory for its smartphone business, which was once larger than Samsung’s.Honor’s latest smartphones featuring fifth-generation wireless capability use mobile chips developed by Taiwanese chipmaker MediaTek, the company announced on Friday. Its new laptop is equipped with Intel’s central processing units and a graphic processor made by Nvidia.“Based on global consumer needs, Honor has the flexibility and independence to choose the best solutions for its global supply chain,” the company said in a statement announcing its newest line-up. “Honor has already confirmed partnerships with leading suppliers such as AMD, Intel, MediaTek, Micron Technology, Microsoft, Qualcomm, Samsung, SK Hynix and Sony.”A MediaTek spokesman didn’t immediately reply to questions about whether it had entered into an agreement with Honor. Intel, Nvidia and Qualcomm didn’t immediately respond to emails from Bloomberg News seeking comments.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2021 Bloomberg L.P.

Surging COVID-19 cases in the U.S. have forced MGM Studios and Sony Corp's (NYSE: SNE) Sony Pictures to push back big-ticket movies by few months, according to The Hollywood Reporter.What Happened: In yet another blow to the movie theaters, MGM and Sony announced a delay in major movie titles. James Bond movie "No Time to Die" will be delayed until Oct. 8, "Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway" is pushed to June 11, "Cinderella" postponed to July 16, "Ghostbusters: Afterlife" moved to Nov. 11, and "Uncharted" has been postponed until February next year."Given the uncertainty of the marketplace, a change of date is certainly better than a change of venue, so to speak from big screen to small screen," Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore, told CNBC.Related News: Warner Bros. Just Dealt Movie Theaters Another Huge BlowWhy It Matters: "No Time to Die" has a budget of roughly $250 million, and adding marketing costs, MGM needs to generate at least $400 million. Dergarabedian said that such big-ticket movies have a high revenue-generating potential for the movie theater and worth the wait.Movie theaters like AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc (NYSE: AMC) are still struggling to stay afloat as extended lockdown has kept moviegoers out of the cinema halls. This has led to many movie studios opting for the simultaneous movie release on OTT platforms.Related News: Imax CEO Bullish On 2021 Theatrical Movie BacklogImage Courtesy: WikimediaSee more from Benzinga * Click here for options trades from Benzinga * Warren Buffett-Backed BYD Raises .9B In Hong Kong * Fire Breaks Out At World's Largest Vaccine Manufacturer Site In India, Vaccine Production Not Hit: Report(C) 2021 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

With no quick end to the coronavirus pandemic in sight, Hollywood is again pushing back the release dates of some of 2021's biggest movies, including the new James Bond film and the "Ghostbusters" sequel.

(Bloomberg) -- Apple Inc.’s first crack at a headset is designed to be a pricey, niche precursor to a more ambitious augmented reality product that will take longer to develop, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The initial device has confronted several development hurdles and the company has conservative sales expectations, illustrating how challenging it will be to bring this nascent consumer technology to the masses. As a mostly virtual reality device, it will display an all-encompassing 3-D digital environment for gaming, watching video and communicating. AR functionality, the ability to overlay images and information over a view of the real world, will be more limited. Apple has planned to launch the product as soon as 2022, going up against Facebook Inc.’s Oculus, Sony Corp.’s PlayStation VR and headsets from HTC Corp., the people said. They asked not to be identified discussing private plans. Apple’s typical playbook involves taking emerging consumer technology, such as music players, smartphones, tablets and smartwatches, and making it reliable and easy to use for everyone. This time, though, Apple isn’t looking to create an iPhone-like hit for its first headset. Instead, the company is building a high-end, niche product that will prepare outside developers and consumers for its eventual, more mainstream AR glasses. The plans suggest that Apple’s first headset will be far more expensive than those from rivals, which cost about $300 to $900. Some Apple insiders believe the company may sell only one headset per day per retail store. Apple has roughly 500 stores, so in that scenario, annual sales would be just over 180,000 units — excluding other sales channels. That would put it on par with other pricey Apple products, such as the $5,999 Mac Pro desktop computer. An Apple spokesman declined to comment.Apple is aiming to include some of its most advanced and powerful chips in the headset along with displays that are much higher-resolution than those in existing VR products. Some of the chips tested in the device beat the performance of Apple’s M1 Mac processors. The company has also designed the headset with a fan, something the company usually tries to avoid on mobile products, the people said.The headset, codenamed N301, is in a late prototype stage, but is not yet finalized so the company’s plans could change or be scrapped entirely before launch. The AR glasses, codenamed N421, are in an early stage known as “architecture,” meaning Apple is still working on underlying technologies. This product is several years away, according to the people, though Apple has previously targeted as early as 2023 to unveil it. The powerful processors and the inclusion of a fan initially led to a device that was too large and heavy with some concern about neck strain in early testing. Apple removed the space VR gadgets usually reserve for users who need to wear eyeglasses, which brought the headset closer to the face and helped shrink the size. And to address consumers with poorer eyesight, it developed a system where custom prescription lenses can be inserted into the headset over the VR screens, the people said. This may expose Apple to regulations governing the sale of products with prescriptions. The company typically sells its devices in dozens of countries, many of which have different prescription rules. Apple is also discussing how it would implement prescriptions at the point of sale online and in retail stores. Apple originally planned to include less powerful processors and offload much of the work to a hub in a user’s home that would wirelessly beam content to the headset. But that idea was squashed by Jony Ive, Apple’s design chief at the time, Bloomberg News reported last year. The headset is designed to work as a standalone device, meaning it can operate on a battery rather than be plugged into a wall or a Mac. That’s similar to Facebook’s latest VR product, while Sony’s requires a PlayStation gaming console. Read more: Apple’s AR and VR Headset Plans Altered by Internal DifferencesTo further reduce the device’s weight, Apple is planning to use a fabric exterior. That’s a departure from the metal designs Apple uses for most products, though it has used plastic for devices like AirPods, that need to be light, and fabrics for the HomePod speaker to improve acoustics. Prototypes of the headset, some of which are about the size of an Oculus Quest, include external cameras to enable some AR features. The company is testing using the cameras for hand-tracking and is working on a feature where a user can type virtually in the air to input text. It’s unclear if that function will be ready for the first version of the device or if it will ever leave the exploratory stage. The Covid-19 pandemic has disrupted some development with Apple hardware engineers only being able to work on certain days from the office. The company has also faced delays conducting user testing and data collection. That has slowed some decisions in the engineering process. The company is also still grappling with what content and functionality it intends to ship with the device. Virtual reality is still a somewhat nascent technology, with content beyond games still relatively limited. Last year, Apple acquired a company called NextVR, which recorded events such as concerts and sports games in virtual reality. It’s also discussed bundling an App Store with the device, which runs on an operating system dubbed “rOS” inside the company. If Apple goes ahead with the VR headset, it would be a precursor to an eventual pair of AR glasses — a product that the company sees as far more mainstream but also more difficult to launch. Microsoft Corp.’s HoloLens 2 and Magic Leap’s headset, which emphasize AR over VR, retail for $3,500 and $2,295 respectively. HoloLens mostly focuses on work use cases still, while Magic Leap fell well short of the early hype and slashed jobs last year. Apple first added AR to the iPhone in 2017, allowing new mobile games and apps like those for virtually placing furniture in your living room before buying it. Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook has said both virtual and augmented reality have potential, but that AR is the larger opportunity. AR glasses must be packed with small, powerful and efficient electronics to overlay notifications, map directions and other information while supporting internet connectivity and strong battery life. That’s a huge technical challenge. Even Oculus, which released its first all-in-one VR headset in 2019, won’t include AR features in its first glasses this year.Getting to that point requires years of work on lenses, hardware and software, component miniaturization, production techniques and content creation. Critically, getting most people to wear a computer on their face, even a small one, is difficult. That, in part, doomed Google’s early attempt at consumer AR glasses several years ago.By developing a less mainstream initial headset, Apple can invest in the underlying technologies, consumer education, content development and developer relations to give its eventual AR glasses the best opportunity to be successful — when they are ready.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2021 Bloomberg L.P.

The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo and Capcom

The stock closed up 11% despite a deteriorating business outlook as gamers shift to free-to-play games and digital downloads. Things could get ugly.

By Jarrett Banks Singaporean gaming company Razer Inc. is expanding its horizons by moving beyond its core business in the gaming world and into FinTech. Executive Edge interviewed CEO Min-Liang Tan to learn more about how the company weathered the global pandemic and is poised to capture Southeast Asia’s digital lending market. He also told us about […]

With healthy fundamentals, solid product portfolio and flexible business model, Sony (SNE) appears to be a solid investment option at the moment.

Nintendo (NTDOY), Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) and Sony Corporation (SNE) saw a sudden spike in demand for their gaming consoles during the pandemic and the trend is likely to continue.

Barron’s recently argued that shares looked pricey at $18. Now they’re nearly $40. The timing of our bearish call was terrible, but our downbeat view on the stock remains the same.

CES 2021 had a big week even virtually, Yahoo Finance spoke with Engadget's Editor in Chief Dana Wollman on all the highlights including a self docking boat from Volvo.

Sony (SNE) closed at $102.05 in the latest trading session, marking a -1.32% move from the prior day.