The global economy is in a lull right now. Some expect a recovery sooner, rather than later. Others, like us, think that we could see a second downturn. Either way, there’s one investment you need to own right now: silver.

Silver is the most flexible metal on earth. We’re not talking about its malleability. We’re talking about how it is used.

Let’s take the point of view of those expecting a quick, painless recovery. In that case, silver is a great investment. It has many industrial uses other precious metals don’t. As the global economy kicks back into gear, we’ll see more demand from electronics manufacturers, battery makers and solar cell producers — all of which use silver in their products.

There are thousands of uses for silver in industry. It is used in water purification, medical machinery and, of course, jewelry. All of these industries will begin to pump out products again,

Sony Corp. (NYSE ADR: SNE) is facing the first consecutive annual loss of its 63-year history.

The Tokyo-based company lost $1.1 billion (98.9 billion yen) last year, and it expects to lose another $1.4 billion (120 billion yen) in its fiscal year ending March 31.  That would be Sony’s first back-to-back annual loss since the company went public in 1958.

And despite renewed optimism within its ranks, Sony still faces a plethora of challenges, including a questionable direction, cost-conscious consumers and a strengthening yen.

The onetime bellwether of the electronics industry has seen its market share crumble in almost every category: Nintendo Co. Ltd.’s (OTC ADR: NTDOY) Wii game console has supplanted Sony’s PlayStation brand, Sony has given up its lead in portable media players to Apple Inc.’s (Nasdaq: AAPL) iPod, and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. is now the world’s largest seller of televisions.

Hoping to turn the

Cogo Group Inc. (COGO) reported second-quarter revenues of $73.6 million, an increase of 7.9%, compared to $68.2 million in the corresponding quarter last year.  The net revenue breakdown is as follows: $23.6 million, or 32.0% of total revenue for mobile handsets, similar to the year-ago quarter; $18.6 million, or 25.2% of total revenue for telecommunications equipment, representing a 6.9% decrease year over year; and $21.8 million, or 29.6% of total revenue for digital media products, similar to the prior-year quarter.   Income from operations was $2.3 million, down 60.5%, compared to $5.8 million in the year-ago period. Operating margin for the quarter was 3.1% versus 8.6% in the prior-year quarter.   Net income attributable to Cogo Group for the second quarter was $2.5 million or EPS attributable to Cogo Group of 7 cents on a U.S. GAAP basis, compared to net income attributable to Cogo Group of $6.5

SRS Labs (SRSL) has announced that its SRS Premium Sound is gaining popularity with several leading computer manufacturers such as Asustek Computer, BenQ Corporation, NEC Corporation, AOC Corporation (AOC), MSI Computer Corp. and Samsung.

Management reported that an increasing percentage of laptop computers, net books and all-in-one PCs for the Asian market were being equipped with SRS Premium Sound. The product was developed with the PC market in mind, where design constraints usually result in poorer sound quality when compared with entertainment devices.

SRSL's first quarter results were very strong, with the computing segment alone growing 80.8% sequentially. We expect the company to continue seeing significant growth, driven by increasing licensing revenue from BenQ, NEC and Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) through the rest of the year.

The company also saw home entertainment revenue increasing 17.9%. Compare these results with audio giant Dolby Laboratories (DLB), which saw

There are some products and services that the world’s economy needs in order to operate. They are essentially ‘the food’ that makes the market “go.” These products are one of the safer havens that investors can rely on when economic times are difficult. This is not to suggest that these products do not suffer a bit in lean times, but they do fair a bit better or go down less in value then other discretionary products or services. An investor that can find these products or services is one that will have found a solid and relatively safe product category in difficult times.

Liquidmetal Technologies inc., a coatings and casings manufacturer and marketer, works to provide industrial coatings and casing components to business. Its primary customer base includes oil drillers, electronics manufacturers, coal fired power plants, sporting goods manufacturers, medical device manufacturers and defense applications.

The vast array of products that

Talks between Panasonic and rival Sanyo began on Friday with regard to a possible buyout deal. The two electronics manufacturers could complete a merger as soon as year’s-end, which would effectively create the largest Japanese electronics company, surpassing Hitachi. “We need another engine for growth, “said Panasonic president Fumio Ohtsubo, “We need another pillar for far greater growth. And Sanyo was that best partner.” In addition to a possible joint future, the companies have an interesting shared history: The founders of the two electronics giants were brothers-in-law.

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Soyo Group, Inc is a distributor of consumer electronics, communications and computer components, and has three major divisions. Its consumer electronics division provides liquid crystal display (LCD) televisions and monitors, as well as Bluetooth wireless products.

The company’s communications division provides telephone service through Voice over Internet protocol (VoIP). This division also provides the hardware needed to create and run VoIP services. Soyo is probably best known as a manufacturer of high-quality designer motherboards and peripherals that provide cost-effective solutions to customer’s requirements.

Soyo has established strategic relationships with major global electronics manufacturers. Its sales offices are located in California and Sao Paulo, Brazil, and it distributes its products through an extensive network of authorized distributors, resellers, system integrators, VARs, retailers, mail-order catalogs and e-tailers. The company was established in 1985 and is based in Taiwan.

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