Panasonic Corp. (PC) plans to restructure its division, Motor Company in April 2010 to enhance growth potential and strengthen its management structure. Upon completion of the restructuring, the motor company will be dissolved.   Panasonic will reorganize and integrate its Home Appliance, Automotive Motor and Industrial Motor Businesses to form the Home Appliances Company (HA) and transfer the Information Equipment Motor Business to Minebea Motor Manufacturing Corporation.  The company will liquidate Panasonic Motor Matsusaka Co., Ltd., which is Panasonic's subsidiary company, for accelerating manufacturing at other optimal locations after transferring compact AC geared motors and industrial brushless motors to Panasonic Motor (Zhuhai).  Panasonic’s organizational restructuring and its ability to target resources to growth areas have enabled the company to withstand the weak economy. The company aims to strengthen both finished product manufacture and device businesses through company-wide cost reduction efforts, including material costs and fixed costs. ...

For the second quarter of fiscal 2010, Audiovox Corp. (VOXX) reported net income of $2.8 million or earnings per share of 12 cents, compared to a net loss of $2.3 million or a loss per share of 10 cents in the corresponding prior-year period. This exceeded the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 2 cents per share. Net sales for the quarter were $124.9 million, compared to net sales of $147.2 million in the prior-year period, a decrease of 15.2%. Accessories sales were $45.9 million, an increase of 29% compared to $35.5 million in the same quarter, a year ago. This increase is primarily due to the addition of new customers and higher sales of antennas as a result of the switch from analog to digital TV, remote controls and other accessory lines under Terk, Acoustic Research and RCA. Electronics sales, which include both mobile and consumer ...

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

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – September 3, 2009 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Panasonic Corp. (PC), SANYO Electric Co Ltd. (SANYY), Sony (SNE), Hitachi (HIT) and Toyota Motor Corp. (TM).

Get the most recent insight from Zacks Equity Research with the free Profit from the Pros newsletter: http://at.zacks.com/?id=5513

Here are highlights from Wednesday’s Analyst Blog:

Panasonic Still Awaits Approval

Panasonic Corp. (PC), one of the leading manufacturers of electronic and electrical products, systems and components, recently said that it is still waiting for regulatory approval for acquiring SANYO Electric Co Ltd. (SANYY).

Panasonic entered into a capital and business

...

The world’s biggest automaker Toyota Motor Corp. (TM) is planning to source lithium-ion batteries for its hybrid vehicles from Sanyo Electric Co. to keep pace with the growing demand for electric cars.

Sanyo, the world’s largest maker of rechargeable batteries, will supply cells for about 10,000 vehicles every year. Sanyo aims to quadruple sales to automakers by 2015 as demand for gasoline-electric cars increases. Toyota will begin using the lithium-ion batteries in 2011.

Panasonic EV Energy Co., Toyota’s joint venture with Panasonic Corp. (PC) is currently the sole supplier of nickel-metal hydride batteries. Panasonic plans to take over Sanyo and double production capacity to around 1 million units a year by the middle of 2010. The deal is awaiting regulatory approval.

Lithium-ion batteries have higher output and capacity than the nickel-metal hydride type that Toyota uses in the Prius and other hybrid vehicles. Demand for gasoline-electric vehicles

...

Canon Inc. (CAJ) profitability for the second quarter was well below the consensus estimate of ¥26.7 billion. The company reported revenue of $8,138.3 million (¥793.8 billion) and net income of $160.0 million (¥15.6 billion) or 13 cents per ADR (¥12.64 per diluted share) for the second quarter of 2009, which were much below our estimate of $9,251.1 million (¥880.7 billion) in revenue and net income of $264.1 million (¥25.1 billion) or 21 cents per ADR (¥20.37 per diluted share). While Canon's revenue came in better than the previous quarter, it decreased 28.2% year-over-year, driven by the negative effect of the strong appreciation of the yen against the dollar, coupled with reduced sales volumes due to decreased demand for office equipment, network MFDs and laser beam printers. Sales declined in all segments with the largest fall in the Optical and Other products, which fell 37.2% as sales ...

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Investors …

Panasonic Corp.'s (PC) MACD indicator has moved into bearish territory with a reading of -0.1127. The Zacks #4 Rank ("Sell") stock has declined almost 1% to $13.38 in afternoon trade. The fiscal 2010 consensus estimate has moved down 70 cents over the past month and is now pegged at a loss of 19 cents per share.

"PC" Free Stock Analysis: Buy? Sell? Hold?Zacks Investment Research

Japan’s Cabinet Office said today (Wednesday) that economic output fell to its worst levels ever, tumbling an annualized 15.2% in the first quarter, as the worst recession in 60 years hammered exports and consumer demand.

Despite the disturbing news from Japan - the world’s second largest economy - some analysts are optimistic that the record gross domestic production (GDP) decline may be the low point, with business activity picking up from here.

“There was a collapse across the board,” Yoshiki Shinke, a senior economist at Dai-Ichi Life Research Institute in Tokyo, told Bloomberg News. But there’s “light at the end of the tunnel,” he said, adding that he believes the economy will rebound this quarter as companies replace inventories and stimulus plans begin to take effect.

Prime Minster Taro Aso has set forth the largest stimulus plan in Japanese history, promising to pump $160 billion into the economy, mostly

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Here are the stocks added to the Zacks #5 Rank ("strong sell") List today:

Aon Corp (AOC) Blyth Inc (BTH) Build-A-Bear Workshop Inc (BBW) Cal-Maine Foods Inc (CALM) Celgene Corp (CELG) CenterPoint Energy Inc (CNP) Cincinnati Financial Corp (CINF) Cleco Corp (CNL) CNinsure Inc (CISG) Domtar Corp (UFS) DRI Corp (TBUS) Duke Realty Corp (DRE) Electronics For Imaging Inc (EFII) Expeditors International of Washington (EXPD) The Hain Celestial Group Inc (HAIN) Heritage Financial Corp (HFWA) Innophos Holdings Inc (IPHS) Integra Bank Corp (IBNK) Investment Technology Group (ITG) ITT Corp (ITT) Kelly Services Inc (KELYA) Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP (KMP) Legacy Bancorp Inc (LEGC) The Macerich Co (MAC) Middlesex Water Co (MSEX) Panasonic Corp (PC) Park Electrochemical Corp (PKE) Penford Corp (...