Market

In todays market report Asian technology shares were up, cheered by Wall Street and strong earnings from U.S. peers.

Regional benchmarks mostly were flat to lower, but chip-related shares like Tokyo Electron gained after a bullish outlook from flash memory maker SanDisk.

Korean chipmakers like Samsung Electronics and Hynix Semiconductor rose, while in Taiwan PC-makers gained on Dell’s record quarterly net profit.

On the downside, Japanese automakers dipped on the stronger yen, despite news that General Motors would recall 1.3 million vehicles to fix a power steering problem

GM said the recall, coming in the wake of Toyota’s massive 8 million vehicle action, covers cars linked to 14 crashes and one injury.

Australia’s central bank hiked its cash rate by 25 basis points, flagging further hikes ahead after a strong economic recovery.

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A quick description of the events that brought America’s Big Three automakers to their knees. First, they had to assume responsiblities assumed by governments in other developed countries. Second, they were not quick enough to respond to changing demands, causing them to lose market share to the Japanese. Having lost market share but having assumed responsbilities usually shouldered by governments, they were preassured for money and neglected R&D, engaged in badge engineering. Third, they did not prepare for the end of cheap gas and the SUV craze – Toyota did, and, despite exploiting the SUV craze as well, prepared by fostering a green image through bringing cars like the Prius to the market, even though they were not profitable in the short run.

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With billions in market share at stake Carquestions continues to test the gas pedal under some extreme conditions in order to prove or disprove the “condensation” and “swollen plastic” explanation that is on file with NHTSA. The results lead to the narrowing of likely possibilities down to just two leaving Toyota in a catch 22 situation. Carquestions makes an appeal to all techs to find evidence of a defective part or a defective system.

Duration : 0:9:18

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Feb. 12 (Bloomberg) — Kurt Sanger, Tokyo-based auto analyst at Deutsche Securities Inc., talks with Bloomberg’s Susan Li and Bernard Lo about the outlook for Japan’s auto industry.¶
Toyota Motor Corp., recalling more than 8 million cars worldwide, may lose more than 1 percentage point of U.S. market share this year from a previous analyst estimate and give sales to Ford Motor Co. and Honda Motor Co. (Source: Bloomberg)

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Worries over European debt are dragging down the global markets.

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FULL TOYOTA PRIUS VS. HONDA INSIGHT @ INSIDELINE.COM:
http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Drives/Comparos/articleId=144926

At the launch of the 2010 Toyota Prius, Bob Carter, group vice president and general manager for Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A., tells us, “We’ll face two challenges when the Prius goes on sale: the economy and the 2010 Honda Insight.

“The good news for consumers is that the market has plenty of room for both the Prius and Insight in their respective segments,” Carter adds. “Based on our 2010 projections, the Prius can achieve a theoretical 7 percent share of the industry’s largest segment — midsize sedans. In the second-ranked compact class, the Insight could achieve a 5 percent market share.”

So it’ll be a nice, peaceful coexistence for these two hybrid cars that just happen to look almost exactly like each other. Don’t believe that? Neither do we.

As the U.S. economy continues its topsy-turvy performance, nobody’s market share is safe. So it actually matters which hybrid car is better — the 2010 Honda Insight, which went on sale March 24, or the 2010 Toyota Prius, which hits dealers in late May.

The Insight has already proven itself against the 2009 Prius. But now that the 2010 Toyota Prius has appeared with its bigger engine, all-new chassis and 50-mpg EPA-combined fuel economy rating, it is a much tougher hybrid cookie (bursting with high-fiber organic oats and fair-trade chocolate chips!).

Duration : 0:3:22

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