Post date: Jan 06, 2011 11:29:52 PM
Summary of business headlines: 3D TV push at Consumer Electronic Show; Apple launches Mac app store; Chilly retail sales and rise in jobless claim dims Wall Street optimism.
USA (Jan 06, 2011) - At the Annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas - TV makers are pushing 3D televisions, even though consumers haven't warmed up to the idea. LG, like rivals, is hoping to change that. It says it is using new technology that will make 3D images less blurry and make those strange looking glasses less bulky. Some like Toshiba are getting rid of the glasses all together.
Meantime, Sony hopes to beef-up its standing in the 3D world, announcing plans to boost content, as well as offer 3D cameras and camcorders.
As usual, Apple is not at CES, but is making news of its own. The company launched an app store for its Mac computers in hopes of luring new software developers. The store operates similar to the iPhone App Store and is linked to iTunes. Apple has less than 5 percent of the global PC market, but that share is rapidly increasing.
Sobering news outside of the world of technology: consumers digging out of a major snowstorm in the U.S. weren't interested in post-holiday shopping. Many U.S. retailers posted disappointing sales gains for December despite a promising start.
And the end of the year saw a jump in weekly unemployment claims. The long-term trend, however, still points to a pick-up in the labor market.
But that led to worries about what the consumer will do next. The Dow and S&P 500 edged lower, while the Nasdaq crept higher.
Stocks also headed in different directions in Europe - with the German Dax finishing to the upside.
Conway Gittens, Reuters