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Addio Italia for Kesa?

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According to The Telegraph, Kesa might be saying "addio" to the Italian market-- at least if it follows advice from financial services provider UBS.

Kesa “Sadly Kesa has been in the eye of the European storm,” UBS says. “The tough macro conditions in Spain are well documented and the austerity measures to be undertaken in both Spain and Italy are likely to constrain consumer demand over the next few years.”

Kesa has 24 stores in Italy-- and has already shut down "some" stores, The Telegraph says. Analysts estimate Kesa losses in Italy can total up to €45m unless it manages to find "a route to profitability."

Meanwhile the retailer's Spanish business is looking "more sustainable," with analysts predicting losses reaching €10m by 2013.

Kesa already left the UK market, following the 2011 sale of the struggling Comet sale to OpCapita for all of £2 (plus £50m "dowry"). With the French Darty chain currently providing Kesa with "solid cash generation," will Kesa manage to turn the rest of its European business around?

Go Talk of Italian Retreat Fuels Kesa Electricals

No Surprises in Apple Q2 Results

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Apple manages to exceed analyst expectations for Q2 2012-- with $39.2 billion in revenues and net profits reaching $6bn with 94% Y-o-Y growth.

Cook Earnings CallWall Street was expecting Apple revenues to reach $36.81bn.

Apple also managed to beat analyst sales forecast-- at least when it comes to iPhones. Q2 2012 is the 2nd best quarter for iPhones on record (the best being Q1 2012), with total sales reaching 35.1m (with 88% Y-o-Y growth), up from an expected 30.5m.

On the other hand iPad sales see a slight Q-o-Q slump, reaching 11.8m units (with 151% Y-o-Y growth) since new iPad sales only account for 2 weeks out of Q2.

According to Apple, the iPad remains the fastest selling Apple product yet. The company also claims “the new iPad is on fire. We are selling them as fast as we can make them.”

Mac sales for Q2 reach 4m units with 7% Y-o-Y growth, while iPod sales decline by 15% Y-o-Y to total 7.7m.

Speaking at the earnings call, Apple CEO Tim Cook commented on the current convergence trend-- noting the company will not get into the tablet-laptop hybrid market.

"I think that anything can be forced to converge... But the problem is that these products are about tradeoffs. You begin to make tradeoffs to the point that what you have at the end of the day won’t please anyone," Cook said.

Go Apple Q2 2012 Results

IDC: EMEA PC Market "Defies Economic Woes," Rebounds

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IDC has a positive report on the EMEA PC market-- despite economic uncertainty and HDD shortages, Q1 2012 PC shipments show a "positive rebound," reaching 25.6m units with 7.6% Y-o-Y growth.

Even W. Europe, the worst affected region, sees overall shipment growth of 1.8% Y-o-Y, with "healthier" results across all countries.

Denmark and Sweden PC shipments show double-digit growth, while the UK shows a rebound of 8%. France remains flat (-0.1%), Germany sustains 6.1% growth and debt-stricken Spain posts a soft decline of -2.3% Y-o-Y according to IDC.

EMEA PC Market

Meanwhile Central E. Europe and MEA exceed expectations with Y-o-Y growth reaching 18.3% and 13.5% respectively. CEMA PC volume totals 12.08m, with growth in both portable and desktop segments.

HP Refreshes Desktops with Ivy Bridge

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HP RefreshHP announces additions to its consumer desktop PC families, with x5 models carrying Ivy Bridge, the 3rd generation of Intel quad-core processors.

Three of the new Ivy Bridge-powered models come in the all-in-one format-- the Omni 220qd (with a 21.5" display and optional Beats audio), the Omni 27qd (the first HP all-in-one with a 27" display) and the touch-enabled TouchSmart 520xt.

Moving to towers, HP offers the Pavilion HPE h8t and more-powerful HPE h8xt, as well as what the company calls "most powerful Pavilion platform to date," the HPE Phoenix H9t.

Go HP

An iHome Office for Tablet Users

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Tablet accessory maker iHome promises "office quality accessibility" with the iDM5-- a Bluetooth-enabled workstation for mobile device users with a full-sized QWERTY keyboard.

iDM5It comes complete with x2 USB ports, ideal for keeping devices charged while working, and a built-in microphone for speakerphone functionality.

The ergonomically angled keyboard is coupled with a sound system, allowing users to stream music through either Bluetooth or universal 3.5mm aux line-in jack.

Being Bluetooth-enabled it is compatible with most (if not all) mobile devices.

Go iHome iDM5

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