Despite Sony’s weak sales over the past few years, the coming days will be incredibly important for the financial growth of Sony and a potential increase/decrease in their stock price. For those who are unfamiliar with the gaming industry, E3, or the Electronic Entertainment Expo, begins tomorrow showcasing the newest and best in all things gaming. While Sony, like Microsoft, is unexpected to announce its upcoming Playstation 4, any rumors will have a dramatic shift on the market price. However, despite the hype around the next generation of gaming consoles, many analysts remain bearish as retail sales of video games have declined for the past three years and is down -27%, compared to the same period in 2011. According to analysts, Sony’s expected Playstation 4, or PS4, will sell only half of the PS3 volume as competition increases from other handheld and mobile phone devices.

Thomas Doherty is a student at Villanova University majoring in Finance and Economics. All questions and comments can be sent to Thomas@KeeneOnTheMarket.com

Auto makers were part of the problem today with Mazda dropping 7.3% and Nissan, Toyota and Honda each losing over 3.5%
After being downgraded by JP Morgan, Canon managed to shed 5.2%, the company said it would buy back 50b Yen worth of its own shares after market close today.
Sony lost 1.7% and found itself at a 32 year low.

The Hang Seng lost 2% with China Unicom the frontrunner losing 5.64%, the only stock in the index closing green was HonkKong Electric Holdings Ltd.
European Stocks are flat so far, however auto makers took a hit on the continent as well with Volkswagen losing 3.2, BMW losing 2.5 and Daimler down 2.2%.
Commodities are mixed this morning with Natural gas and silver futures up while crude and oil remain down.
Contributer Chris Rygh is currently pursuing his MBA in Wisconsin and has a passion for the Market. Comments can be directed to ryghcw19@uww.edu

The unemployment rate ticked one-tenth of a percentage point higher to 8.2%, the first increase in nearly a year.

Both the Dow and S&P 500 staged their biggest first-quarter ascents in over a decade; just one month ago, the Dow closed at a 4½-year high.

Blue chips have since fallen nearly 9%, and the Dow industrials closed down 0.8% for the year on Friday. Investors have been on tenterhooks in recent weeks over Greece’s potential exit from the euro zone and the instability of Spanish banks. Worries about Europe have compounded concerns that global economic growth is slowing.

European markets extended declines when the US jobs report came out, with the Stoxx Europe 600 shedding -1.9% to its lowest close of the year. Asian markets lost -1.2% as manufacturing slowed in China and throughout Asia.

Groupon (GRPN) dropped -2.20, as more than 600 million additional shares were released to the public with the end of its stock “lockup period.” Facebook (FB) fell -6.35% after making a rally late Thursday. Verizon Communications (VZ) lost -2.2% after agreeing to acquire Hugh Telematics, a voice and data communications developer.

Finally, the poor jobs report marked a mad dash out of stock and into haven assets. Gold prices shot up 3.7%, to settle at $1,620.50 a troy ounce. The yield on 10-year Treasury notes fell to 1.437% in intraday trading, dropping below 1.5% for the first time ever, ending at 1.467%.

Thomas Doherty is a student at Villanova University majoring in Finance and Economics. All questions and comments can be sent to Thomas@KeeneOnTheMarket.com

Unprofitable:  I lose money on this trade if SPY closes under $125.75 or above June 8, 2012.  The most I can lose on this trade is the amount the Spread can be worth $1 minus the price I sold it for $.25 for a total of $.75.

Reason I Like This Trade:  I like this trade, because I can make money if the stock market rallies, is flat, or goes lower.  The SPY can sell off another 2% and I still make money on this trade.  This $126 level would take us to unchanged on the year.

UPDATE 6.4.2012  With the SPY unchanged, this Spread is currently worth $.25 and I will leave it on, because in 5 days it will hopefully expire worthless.

UPDATE 6.5.2012  With SPY rallying today I took half of my position off for a double, I bought the Spread for $.12.  Leaving the other half on, but taking some profits.

UPDATE 6.7.2012  With the SPY rallying hard, this Spread is worthless.  Obviously no trade is a winner until it is closed, but I will leave this trade on so I dont have to waste money in commissions.

UPDATE 6.11.2012  This Spread went out worthless and moving to the next trade.

Read more about closes by www.keeneonthemarket.com

The market is also falling today due to a lower than expected payroll and unemployment report values. Nonfarm payrolls rose 69,000 in May, according to the Labor Department, the smallest gain in a year and well below forecasts for an increase of 155,000. Moreover, the unemployment rate ticked one-tenth of a percentage point higher to 8.2%, the first increase in nearly a year. However, it was reported that the increase in unemployment was not a result of layoffs, but induviduals coming back into the work force and try to find jobs. With the U.S. economy looking weaker than it did just several weeks ago, pressure is mounting on the Federal Reserve to step in again with additional measures to stimulate growth. Futhermore, Congress is divided and idle in an election year in which the economy will be the biggest issue in the local and Presidential elections.

All 10 of the S&P 500’s sectors fell early morning, as did all components of the Dow. Financial stocks, including Bank of America (BAC), -4.41% were the biggest decliners. American Express (AXP), -4.49% also fell, while tech company Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), -3.88% dropped. The jobs report sparked a rush out of stocks into haven assets. Gold prices shot up 3.1%, to $1,613 a troy ounce. The yield on 10-year Treasury notes fell to 1.472%, dropping below 1.5% for the first time ever. Groupon (GRPN), dropped -10.07 as more shares were introduced to the public following their IPO. Omnivision (OVTI) lost -94.2% as they missed quarterly earnings, despite growth. Most commodities fell. Crude-oil prices slumped 3.1%, to $83.40 a barrel. The dollar retreated against the euro and yen.

Thomas Doherty is a student at Villanova University majoring in Finance and Economics. All questions and comments can be sent to Thomas@KeeneOnTheMarket.com

With their fiscal fourth quarter earnings, OmniVision announced that their earnings fell 92% as the digigtal provider suffered through weakened margins and revenues. Initially, OmniVision projected first quarter earnings of between $0.16 and $0.27, also below the mean analyst estimate of $0.29. On the other hand, they announced first quarter revenue of $235 million to $255 million, above analyst projections of $219 million. For the quarter ended April 30, OmniVision reported a profit of $2.7 million, or 5 cents a share, down from $34 million, or 56 cents a share. Gross margin narrowed to 22.5% from 30.7% and operating expenses were up 5.3% as research-and-development expenses jumped 12%. OmniVision designs chips that convert optical images to an electrical signal in digital cameras and videogames. Finally, OmniVision was rumored to be the iPhone 5 camera supplier, so look for a jump in the price if the rumor proves to be true.

Thomas Doherty is a student at Villanova University majoring in Finance and Economics. All questions and comments can be sent to Thomas@KeeneOnTheMarket.com

Read more about every by www.keeneonthemarket.com