Monday 10 September 2007

GAMES HARDWARE

ASIA: Wii's success drives Nintendo's market capitalisation.

Both Microsoft and Sony have cut the price of their core consoles in the US market. The various formats of the Xbox will see discounts of between $20 and $50.

These moves are in part spurred by the availability of the cheaper Nintendo Wii.

The Wii is outselling Sony's Playstation 3 by a factor of six in the Japanese market and a factor of 2 in the USA. This success resulted in Nintendo's market capitalisation outstripping Sony's in July 2007.

GAMBLING MARKETS

EUROPE: Television advertising by gambling companies deregulated by the 2005 Gambling Act.

The Gambling Act 2005 which comes into force on 1 September 2007 contains a number of provisions, key amongst which is the deregulation of television advertising.

Gambling companies will be able to broadcast advertisements after 9pm; sports betting advertisements will be permitted during sporting events broadcast before this watershed.

However, the Act only applies to companies based in the European Economic Area, Gibraltar or a 'white-list' of other approved domiciles. Key centres of online gambling activity such as Costa Rica and Antigua have not yet applied to join the 'white-list'.

The measures have been criticised by the Royal College of Psychiatrists as a 'recipe for disaster'.

EGGS MARKETS

AMERICAS: As the size of flocks increase, consumption declines.

Before WWII the majority of egg producers in the USA had flocks of less than 400 hens. Technological developments in the 1960s predicated the shift to large commercial farms.

There are presently 64 companies with more than a million layers and 11 with more than 5 million

Per capita egg consumption peaked at 405 in 1945, nearly 60% higher than current levels. The industry believes the explanation for the decline lies in life style changes and health concerns.