The International Trade Administration (ITA) has issued its preliminary results of the following antidumping (AD) duty administrative reviews:
HD DVD edged closer to establishing a China-only format with the DVD Forum’s approval of preliminary specs for such a system. The decision to go forward came by the narrowest of votes at the Forum’s Steering Committee in L.A. last week, where the group also approved developing specs for camcorders that would use red lasers to record HD DVD on conventional DVD blanks.
(BP is reissuing its summary of this CBP guide, which appeared in the September 18, 2006 ITT, 06091805, in order to delete all of CBP's references to Truck AMS (Automated Manifest System), as AMS is under ACS, and CBP's E-Manifest: Truck, though also an automated system, is under ACE (the Automated Commercial Environment). Other conforming changes are also made to BP's summary.)
Worldwide PC shipments are on pace to reach 233.7 million this year, up 10.5% 2005. But revenue for PC makers is expected to drop 2.5% to $198.3 billion, according to a preliminary forecast released Fri. by research firm Gartner Dataquest. “Unit growth will continue to be price driven for the next several quarters as PC replacement activity wanes and the battle between Intel and AMD escalates,” said George Shiffler, research dir.-client platforms: “Steeper PC price declines will spur unit growth in mature markets like the United States over the near term, but growth will eventually slow to mid-single digits in these markets as PC replacements fade and saturation becomes more problematic… Vista’s eventual release next year could stimulate some added growth, but we remain skeptical of Vista’s impact.” The report said steeper price declines also will also drive faster growth in emerging markets. That growth should be more sustainable because of low penetration in those markets, expanding economies and a growing number of PC ownership initiatives, Gartner said. The emerging markets are expected to post double-digit growth the next 2 years, it said. Meanwhile, PCs will have a difficult time competing for consumer sales this holiday season. Excess capacity has lowered prices on LCD TVs, and those on many other CE “life-style” products are falling as well, putting them in direct price competition with PCs, Gartner said. “The battle between PCs and LCD TVs in particular is likely to be especially intense over the holiday season given that LCD TVs will almost certainly be backed by aggressive holiday marketing and even lower prices,” Shiffler said. “Even the latest multifunction mobile phones could pose a threat with some buyers considering the prices of these phones and accompanying service contract is increasingly on par with low-end PCs,” he said. Also, the absence of Microsoft’s new Vista OS this fall “will definitely make it harder for PC vendors to maintain consumer interest in PCs without cutting prices,” Shiffler said.
Worldwide PC shipments are on pace to reach 233.7 million this year, up 10.5% 2005. But revenue for PC makers is expected to drop 2.5% to $198.3 billion, and Vista’s impact thought to be nothing spectacular, according to a preliminary forecast released Fri. by research firm Gartner Dataquest. “Unit growth will continue to be price driven for the next several quarters as PC replacement activity wanes and the battle between Intel and AMD escalates,” said George Shiffler, research dir.-client platforms: “Steeper PC price declines will spur unit growth in mature markets like the United States over the near term, but growth will eventually slow to mid-single digits in these markets as PC replacements fade and saturation becomes more problematic… Vista’s eventual release next year could stimulate some added growth, but we remain skeptical of Vista’s impact.” The report said steeper price declines also will also drive faster growth in emerging markets. That growth should be more sustainable because of low penetration in those markets, expanding economies and a growing number of PC ownership initiatives, Gartner said. The emerging markets are expected to post double-digit growth the next 2 years, it said.
The International Trade Administration (ITA) has issued its preliminary results of the following antidumping (AD) duty administrative reviews:
(BP will be reissuing its summary of this CBP guide in order to delete all of CBP's references to Truck AMS (Automated Manifest System), as AMS is under ACS, and CBP's E-Manifest: Truck, though also an automated system, is under the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE). Other conforming changes will also made. The corrected summary is expected to appear in the September 19, 2006 issue of ITT.)
A Tex. state lawmaker cautioned the PUC that it may be overlooking important e-commerce implications in its current inquiry into Internet network neutrality issues. The PUC, under a 2005 telecom reform law, must conduct a study of whether current state law preserves network neutrality and report its findings by the end of this year. But Woodlands state Rep. Robert Eissler (R) in a letter to the PUC said preliminary drafts of the PUC’s report (Case 32527) indicate it may be paying insufficient attention to how the network neutrality issue affects businesses. He said the legislature is concerned not just with effects on end-users but also on e-commerce, adding that many businesses in his district rely heavily on Internet-enabled applications and broadband services. He also faulted the PUC for not getting more specific information from broadband service providers. The PUC preliminary draft also came in for criticism from the state CLEC trade group Texaltel, which said it doesn’t make specific recommendations for preventing discriminatory network practices. The group suggested the state needs legislation to give the PUC authority to address network neutrality issues as they arise.
A Tex. state lawmaker cautioned the PUC that it may be overlooking important e-commerce implications in its current inquiry into Internet network neutrality issues. The PUC, under a 2005 telecom reform law, must conduct a study of whether current state law preserves network neutrality and report its findings by the end of this year. But Woodlands state Rep. Robert Eissler (R) in a letter to the PUC said preliminary drafts of the PUC’s report (Case 32527) indicate it may be paying insufficient attention to how the network neutrality issue affects businesses. He said the legislature is concerned not just with effects on end-users but also on e-commerce, adding that many businesses in his district rely heavily on Internet-enabled applications and broadband services. He also faulted the PUC for not getting more specific information from broadband service providers. The PUC preliminary draft also came in for criticism from the state CLEC trade group Texaltel, which said it doesn’t make specific recommendations for preventing discriminatory network practices. The group suggested the state needs legislation to give the PUC authority to address network neutrality issues as they arise.
The PS2 version of Madden NFL 07 from Electronic Arts (EA) was again the #1-rented videogame in the U.S., according to Rentrak preliminary Home Video Essentials data for the week ended Sept. 10. No new games hit the top 10. The Xbox Madden was #3, up one, while the 360 SKU was #6 again in the game’s 3rd week available. Half the top 10 was EA games. PS2 and Xbox SKUs of NCAA Football 07 were #5 and #10, respectively, in that game’s 8th week… The best- selling PC game in the U.S. in Aug. was again World of Warcraft from Vivendi Games, NPD Group said. NPD said EA’s The Sims 2 Glamour Life Stuff Expansion Pack was the #1- selling PC game in the U.S. the week ended Sept. 2. Madden - - the previous week’s #1 PC game -- fell to #6. World of Warcraft was again #2 in the week.