Kaz Hirai, who oversees Sony’s videogame and consumer electronics businesses, said the company always viewed PlayStation 3, which debuted in 2006, as a product with a 10-year life cycle and he sees no reason to rush to replace it with a new system.

The E3 trade show, slated this year for early June in Los Angeles, is an event where many videogame console makers reveal plans for upcoming systems. Historically, new game machines are announced about every five years so there has been a lot of speculation that a new PlayStation may be unveiled at this year’s E3.

During a roundtable with reporters at the Consumer Electronics Show, a reporter asked a question to Hirai attributing comments to the head of its videogame division, Andrew House, that there would be no announcement about a PlayStation 4 at the show.

Hirai, who appointed House for the job, said they are not talking about a new home console now and that they don’t plan to do so at E3.

“Andy (House) is absolutely right in that we are not making any announcements at E3,” Hirai said. “I’ve always said a 10-year life cycle for PS3, and there is no reason to go away from that.”

Separately, Sony Chief Executive Howard Stringer also fielded a question about a possible investment in Olympus Corp. , the embattled digital camera and medical equipment maker. Olympus has said it needs to raise capital to restore its battered financial health in the wake of its accounting scandal.

Stringer declined to comment on it, saying the situation wasn’t far enough along. “We haven’t marched forward in that particular area,” he said.

SOURCE: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/sony-denies-plans-to-unveil-new-playstation-at-e3-2012-01-10

Chinese demand for Nike products has been growing recently, leading all other regions in the latest quarter with 28% growth, excluding currency effects.

Nike, one of the world’s largest sporting-goods makers, said Monday the new campus will be located in Shanghai. Craig Cheek, vice president of Nike’s Greater China geography, said the headquarters would “elevate and expand” the company’s facilities and capabilities, and bring all of its Shanghai-based employees together across the Nike brands.

Cheek noted that Nike reported more than $2 billion in revenue from the Greater China geography for the first time in its latest quarterly results.

In those results, fiscal-second-quarter proit rose 2.6% on a positive customer response to innovative products, but costs and foreign-exchange pressure hurt margins.

Nike shares were up 21 cents at $98.56 after hours.

SOURCE: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/nike-to-build-new-china-headquarters-2012-01-09

Jack Tretton, Sony’s president for its North American videogame division, said the company plans to release the new touchscreen device, called the “Vita,” on Feb. 22 about a month after it debuts in Japan, where Sony is headquartered. The game console will have a starting price of $249.

The Vita’s release will come roughly a year after Nintendo Co. (NTDOY, 7974.OK) began selling its 3DS handheld, which caught attention for its upgraded graphics and abiltiy to display 3-D images without glasses. However, the 3DS didn’t resonate with consumers leading Nintendo to slash its sticker price by nearly 40% to goose demand.

Tretton said he doesn’t expect Sony to face the same challenges because the Vita will offer more in-depth games that will rival those available on a home videogame console. He added that Sony chose to continue making mobile devices because its customers are seeking higher quality games than those typically available on a smartphone.

“We want to be everywhere gaming is,” he said.

SOURCE: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/sony-to-launch-new-handheld-in-america-feb-22-2011-10-18

The phone is expected to be powered by Google’s latest Android software platform, known as Ice Cream Sandwich, which was originally due to be unveiled at an event in San Diego on Oct. 11. The event was postponed following the death of former Apple Inc. (AAPL) CEO Steve Jobs.

SOURCE: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/samsung-to-unveil-new-android-phone-2011-10-13

The new facility, to be built at a cost of Y18 billion, will be constructed on the premises of Isuzu’s existing plant in Chachoengsao Province and is scheduled to begin operating in October 2012.

Together with the existing plant, Isuzu’s production capacity for pickup trucks will be boosted to 400,000 per year, it said.

SOURCE: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/isuzu-to-build-new-pickup-truck-plant-in-thailand-2011-09-29-145570

The 238,000-barrel-a-day refinery was taken out of service on Saturday evening as a precaution ahead of Hurricane/Tropical Storm Irene.

ConocoPhillips COP -2.12% on Monday told the U.S. National Response Center the restart process could cause emissions that would be routed to the plant’s safety flare system.

SOURCE: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/conocos-new-jersey-refinery-resumes-production-2011-09-02

The appointment comes as the teen retailer–which sells action-sports related apparel, footwear, equipment and accessories–faces concerns about slowing sales momentum. Earlier this month, Zumiez reported its July same-store sales increased 4.9%, falling short of Wall Street’s estimate.

Stolzman, who served as CFO of online jewelry retailer Blue Nile from June 2008 through November 2010, replaces Trevor Lang, who left Zumiez in June. Chief Executive Richard Brooks had been CFO on an interim basis until Stolzman took over on Monday, according to the filing.

Stolzman, 45 years old, will receive an annual base salary of $310,000 and a potential bonus between 65% and 130% of his base pay, prorated based on his start date, according to the filing. In addition, he will receive stock options worth about $600,000 and restricted stock worth about $300,000, both vesting over a four-year period.

Before his position at Blue Nile, Stolzman served as chief financial officer of Imperium Renewables Inc., a company in the bio-diesel manufacturing and distribution business. He also has served as a senior vice president at Starbucks Corp. SBUX +0.24% .

Zumiez shares closed Friday down 0.3% at $20.23 and were inactive after-hours. The stock is down 25% so far this year.

SOURCE: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/zumiez-names-former-blue-nile-executive-as-new-cfo-2011-08-12

Shares dropped 9.2% to $48.50 after-hours Thursday as the company said the rollout of new regulations likely distracted employees in the latest quarter and hurt performance.

Many for-profit colleges have faced trouble attracting new students as regulatory changes force them to tighten admissions standards and tame aggressive recruitment efforts. DeVry is among the education companies that have beefed up their job-placement services to ensure students will be able to repay their education loans upon graduation.

“We were not satisfied with our short-term enrollment performance this quarter as total students declined to around 119,000, but we believe in our long-term opportunities for growth,” President and Chief Executive Daniel Hamburger said.

DeVry has made moves to diversify its revenue stream to hedge against the latest regulatory uncertainty. The company last week said it will acquire privately held American University of the Caribbean for $235 million in cash, increasing its presence in the medical and health-care education segments fields.

For the quarter ended June 30, DeVry posted a profit of $75.2 million, or $1.08 a share, up from $71.6 million, or 99 cents a share, a year earlier. Revenue rose 7.9% to $546.8 million.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected $1.03 a share and $546 million.

Total student enrollment slipped 1.2% to 119,127 as new undergraduate enrollment at its main DeVry University dropped 26%. The number of students taking graduate courses, which are mostly offered through the company’s Keller Graduate School of Management, climbed 7.7%. Online enrollment edged down 0.7%.

SOURCE: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/devry-profit-up-5-new-undergrad-enrollment-falls-2011-08-11

Metro Pacific said Morgan Stanley’s MS -0.24% Singapore-based investment management firm had informed the company that it had bought a total 717.11 million shares for PHP2.58 billion ($60 million) in 23 trades over the two-month period. The purchases brought Morgan Stanley Investment Management’s total shareholding in Metro Pacific to 1.44 billion shares, Metro Pacific added.

SOURCE: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/morgan-stanley-raises-stake-in-metro-pacific-2011-07-18

The company also sees revenue rising from EUR45.8 billion last year due to increased deliveries of commercial aircraft by its Airbus division.

Chief Executive Louis Gallois told a shareholders’ meeting that Airbus expects to deliver between 520 and 530 aircraft this year, up from a record 510 in 2010, with gross order intake outstripping deliveries and adding to the company’s vast order book.

At the end of March, Airbus had an order backlog of EUR375 billion. Cash flow is expected to be positive in 2011.

Gallois said the company’s strategy in the coming years will be focused on improving the low level of profitability of the company’s civil aviation activities and strengthening its defense business. Gallois said EADS wants to be a core player in any future consolidation of the defense industry.

EADS, which is sitting on a cash pile of EUR12.2 billion, could pursue its external growth through acquisitions or partnerships, “especially in Asia, the Middle East and the Americas,” according to documents distributed to shareholders.

It is still aiming to reach a revenue balance between Airbus and its non-Airbus activities.

But that will be increasingly difficult without external growth given the budget constraints of European and U.S. governments that has put a damper on defense spending.

SOURCE: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/eads-confirms-2011-financial-guidance-2011-05-26