Without an ‘iTV,’ Apple’s growth could shrink to the single digits by 2015

Another analyst believes that Apple is losing its shine. Toni Sacconaghi of Bernstein Research on Thursday trimmed his price target for the company, citing concerns that growth may be slowing. The analyst believes that iPhone sales will remain strong for at least the next two years, however Apple (AAPL) is expected to lose overall market share “if it does not bring out a lower-price device” in the...

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Windows already threatening iPhone in Southern Europe

Kantar Worldpanel’s report for November came out and much has been made of the iPhone market share surge in the United States. What I find interesting in the November numbers is just how ice cold the iPhone has gone in so many international markets, from Australia to Brazil to Southern Europe. The iOS market share showed hefty declines outside in many major markets: down 5.4 percentage points in Australia...

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Analysis: Japan's yen offensive may give Toyota an edge over Hyundai

TOKYO (Reuters) - When Toyota Motor Corp President Akio Toyoda visited northern Japan in July last year and announced a $24 million engine plant expansion, some analysts saw it as evidence of a flawed strategy that put patriotism above profitability.At the time, Toyota was struggling to rebuild its supply base after the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami and the yen was climbing toward a post-war record...

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Treasury unveils plan to buy time under debt ceiling

 The Treasury on Wednesday announced the first of a series of measures that should push back the day when the government will exceed its legal borrowing authority as imposed by Congress by around two months.Without any action, Treasury said the government is set to reach its $16.4 trillion debt ceiling on December 31.The government is facing a crunch on the debt ceiling because the issue has...

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Stores look to week after Christmas for sales

Bargain-hungry Americans will need to go on a post-Christmas spending binge to salvage this holiday shopping season.Despite the huge discounts and other incentives that stores offered leading up to Christmas, U.S. holiday sales so far this year have been the weakest since 2008, when the nation was in a deep recession.So stores now are depending on the days after Christmas to make up lost ground: The...

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US Treasury to take steps to avoid borrowing limit

The U.S. Treasury Department will begin taking steps on Friday to delay hitting the government's $16.4 trillion borrowing limit on Dec. 31.Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said in a letter Wednesday to congressional leaders that the department will use accounting measures to save approximately $200 billion. That could keep the government from reaching the limit for about two months.The move comes...

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Wall Street drops in thin session, led by retailers

Stocks fell for a third straight day on Wednesday, dragged lower by retail stocks after a report showed consumers spent less in the holiday shopping season than last year.Trading was light, with volume at a mere 4.01 billion shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange, the Nasdaq and NYSE MKT, well below the daily average so far this year of about 6.48 billion shares. The day's volume was the lightest...

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Afghan bomber attacks near major US base; no dead

A vehicle apparently driven by a suicide bomber exploded at the gate of a major U.S. military base in eastern Afghanistan on Wednesday, with initial reports indicating some Afghans were injured but no one was killed, a NATO command spokesman said. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.The vehicle, probably with a suicide bomber inside, exploded at the gate of Camp Chapman, located adjacent...

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8 dead in Christmas Day fires, riot in Philippines

Angry residents beat a man to death and threw rocks at firefighters after a shantytown fire left thousands of people homeless, and another Christmas Day blaze in the Philippine capital left seven people dead, officials said Wednesday.A resident was beaten to death by his neighbors after shouting that he started Tuesday's shantytown fire in suburban San Juan city, Senior Fire Officer Domingo Cabog...

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Three Afghans dead in new blast at U.S. base in Afghan east

A suicide bomber killed three people in an attack on a U.S. base in Afghanistan on Wednesday, the same base that is believed to be used by the CIA and which a suicide bomber attacked three years ago killing seven CIA employees.The Afghan Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack in the eastern town of Khost, saying they had sent a suicide bomber driving a van packed with explosives to the base."The...

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