Today, Amazon.com announced that the 2008 holiday season was its “best ever” with more than 6.3 million items ordered and 5.6 million units shipped during its peak day on Dec. 15. The company’s upbeat announcement was quite different from most brick-and-motor retail locations. Amazon’s bestsellers included the Nintendo Wii, Samsung’s 52-inch LCD HDTV, the Apple iPod touch and the Blokus board game.

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A very large part of electronics production goes into consumer electronics products such as televisions; games such as the Nintendo wii, Panasonic (PC) Playstation and Microsoft (MSFT) X-Box; cell phones; personal computers; digital cameras and many toys.

In our opinion, sales this holiday season are likely to be flat, at best, with 2007. This does not bode well for Panasonic and Sony (SNE), the two major Japanese consumer electronics companies in our universe.

OPPORTUNITIES

The strongest area in 2008 has been flat panel TVs, mainly high-definition [HD] LCD sets that are 40" or larger. In anticipation of a good selling season, the manufacturers had produced significantly more sets than had been sold through the retail channels.

WEAKNESSES

Thus, there is an inventory build-up back through the supply chain as far as the LCD glass manufacturers such as Corning Glass (GLW), including the component producers like Trident Microsystems (

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Call me cheap, but I haven't stayed at a Westin hotel since I won a sales contest at Merrill Lynch...but I hear they are wonderful. Westin and Nintendo have teamed up to outfit some of Westin's fitness centers with Wii consoles and Wii Fit, an interactive fitness game.

Call me cheap, but I haven't stayed at a Westin hotel since I won a sales contest at Merrill Lynch...but I hear they are wonderful. Westin and Nintendo have teamed up to outfit some of Westin's fitness centers with Wii consoles and Wii Fit, an interactive fitness game.

Core:Tx® is a patent-pending wireless system built on Performance Health Technologies, Inc.’s innovative MotionTrack™ platform, which is widely used by professional sports teams. The system combines hardware and software operating on a personal computer (PC) along with a small, mouse sized motion-sensing device that can be attached anywhere on a user’s body with adjustable straps. The mouse sized device senses the user’s limb motion relative to their joints and continuously transmits critical information wirelessly to the PC software. The feedback is in real-time and helps keep patients engaged in the therapy routine while simultaneously aiding neuromuscular reeducation and strengthening muscles throughout an adjustable range of motion.

Core:Tx® is specifically designed to enhance existing rehabilitation, preventative and strengthening protocols by making the entire process more efficient. Core:Tx® for Professionals turns rehabilitation into a wireless, game-like experience that bring entertainment and motivation

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Nicole Kidman is the most overpaid actress in Hollywood, according to a recent report by Forbes Magazine.Components of the Nicole Kidman Stock Index: News Corp. (NWS-A) which owns 20th Century Fox, distributor of the movies Australia and Moulon Rouge! in which she won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress. Appeared in commercials for SKY Italia is an Italian digital satellite television platform owned by News Corporation. Time Warner (TWX) Warner Brother's which distributed Margot at the Wedding, The Invasion, Happy Feet, in which she did a voiceover, Eyes Wide Shut, Fur, plus the New Line Cinema division's The Golden Compass.Sony (SNE) Columbia Pictures distributed the movies Bewitched and Dogville.Viacom (VIA-B) Paramount Pictures distributed Margot at the Wedding, The Stepford Wives, and The ...

There are a lot of people in our society who would rather work out alone versus in a gym surrounded by people. For some, it may be that they feel uncoordinated; unable to work the machines or do the aerobic moves. For others, it may be that they feel uncomfortable in their own skin. The developers at Nintendo feel that their “Wii Fit” can assist this niche of individuals get healthier and more active in their own homes. The team at Performance Health Technologies, Inc. (PMFH.OB) feels that their technology provides a much better total body workout than the “Wii Fit” system.

Performance Health’s Core:Tx® is a groundbreaking hardware and software system that interfaces with the patient to provide real-time feedback on body position and joint movement while providing a therapist with objective data on a patient’s ability and level of improvement. Under

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Performance Health Technologies Inc. (PFMH.OB) is a leader in the developing and marketing of innovative products that guide and monitor exercise and rehabilitation. The company’s proprietary MotionTrack technology tracks and monitors motion and movement in real-time.

One of Performance Health’s key products is their Core:Tx rehabilitation device. Core:Tx is a computer-based program that uses wireless notion-sensing technology designed for neuromuscular re-education. Neuromuscular re-education is a technique used by rehabilitation therapists to restore normal movements in patients with neuromuscular impairments. This product can be used for stroke and trauma patients as well as for other uses such as sports injury diagnosis and rehabilitation.

The company’s technology works somewhat like Nintendo’s Wii Fit in that it is able to track motion. A patient wears a small, wireless sensor near the joint or muscle group being rehabilitated. Software guides the user through an exercise program, measures their range

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If you own Nintendo (or are thinking about buying stock), you should read this article about it. Here is just one excerpt. With a market capitalization of ¥7.5 trillion, Nintendo is the third most valuable company in Japan, after Toyota Motor and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial. Its shares have climbed more than fivefold since 2004, one of the very few bright spots on the country's wobbly stock markets.

Gene Marcial, Business Week’s Inside Wall Street Stock Picker, Gives his latest Rrecommendations:

1.Track these picks at:

http://trackthepros.com/stocks/category/404

1. GameStop

a. Judging from its solid results in its fiscal second quarter ended Aug. 2, it’s doing very well indeed.

b. A big concern is whether the good times will keep rolling, with rising competition from Wal-Mart and Best Buy amid an economic downturn. The bulls, however, predict that GameStop’s strong winnings will go on. from the video game console cycle that includes next-generation platforms Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Nintendo Wii.

c. Consumers will be looking for games to play on the forthcoming platforms, so strong demand should continue for the next few years.

2. Companhia Vale

a. Concern that the U.S. economic slump will soften the demand for the iron ore used in steelmaking has hammered the stock of Brazil’s Vale, the world’s largest producer of such ore.

b. In addition, Vale is

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