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According to this news source, Princess delivered a healthy number of young viewers. About 8.5 million watched. Last year's Disney movie Camp Rock scored a little higher in its debut. The article points out what High School Musical 2 scored, which was about twice as many viewers in its initial run (hey, you can't beat Musical). The article further points out that all these statistics do not include time-shifted ratings, which takes into account later viewings facilitated by digital-recording technologies.

But, I had been looking at various trading ideas and wanted to capture a shorter-term gain for a trading account. The market has been so tough this year. When the recent rally in the indexes started, I didn't want to become part of the group that was desperate to get in on the action, only to expose my portfolio to more risk than necessary. Believe me, when you're afraid of missing a rally, you just might end up with some bad timing.

Sony (NYSE: SNE) closed at $25.51. Five of Michael Jackson's solo Albums -- "Off the Wall," "Thriller," "Bad," "Dangerous" and "HIStory," all with Epic Records, a Sony Music Label -- are among the top-sellers of all time. SNE July option implied volatility of 42 is below its 26-week average of 53, according to Track Data, suggesting decreasing price movement.

Option Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com

Looks like Disney's (NYSE: DIS) The Proposal, starring Sandra Bullock, was sober enough to beat Time Warner's (NYSE: TWX) The Hangover.

According to early estimates at Boxofficemojo, the movie grossed $34 million at domestic theaters, making it the top film of the past three days. Proposal was expected to earn $26 million during its first weekend out in the marketplace.

I was looking around today for a stock to buy. I came up empty-handed. One of my ideas was Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI). I was intrigued this week by reports that said the company wants to have the launch to end all launches for the next Call of Duty title. Quite frankly, I think there's a chance the company will succeed with this. So, naturally, my thoughts turned to shares of Activision Blizzard as a possible buy candidate. Although I already own the stock in a longer-term, taxed portfolio, I wanted a trade for my Roth IRA.

Well, I couldn't buy the company. It's up today (3% at the time of this writing), and I do not want to buy any stock when it's up. Not now, at any rate. The market has come too far too fast, in my opinion, and I want to trade carefully. But, while looking at Activision Blizzard, I came across this article from Ben Kuchera over at Ars Technica. He discusses comments made by the publisher's CEO, Bobby Kotick, on Sony Corporation (NYSE: SNE) and its PlayStation platforms.

This movie-making model is right up my alley. I've written extensively about how Tinsel Town has gotten out of control when it comes to budgets and marketing expenses. Movies simply don't need to cost as much as they do. And projects give away way too many concessions in terms of cash-flow participation. Big stars tend to receive percentages of the gross that are too significant, in my opinion.

If this weekend's box office results say anything, it's that success in the movie business resists predictability. How else do you explain the money that Time Warner's (NYSE: TWX) The Hangover is grossing? I haven't seen the film, so I'm sure there's something to it. Nevertheless, it just didn't seem like it would be a big hit. Guess the word of mouth on it has been pretty good.

Hangover, as of early estimates at Boxofficemojo, took in $33 million at domestic theaters over the past three days, good for first place. It beat Disney's (NYSE: DIS) Pixar project Up, which took in about $30 million and came in second. Hangover actually was the number-one movie last weekend as well. So far, it's taken in more than $100 million.

There's been some news on the Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) Kindle, the company's electronic substitute for real paper books. According to this source, everything is coming along fine for the product from a statistical point of view. An estimate of Kindle sales from Citigroup Global Markets puts the number of units sold last year at 500,000. By 2010, it's said that the Kindle may lead to $1.2 billion of derivative sales. I was surprised to learn that this sales number would possibly represent 4% of Amazon's top line.

Neal Berger, the fund manager who called the market top, founder of fund-of-funds Eagle's View Asset Management, is always seeking undiscovered fund managers who exploit a legitimate "edge" or inefficiency in the market. With decades of experience at prominent firms such as Fuji Bank, Chase Bank, and Millennium Partners, he now manages the investments of wealthy families/individuals.

Earlier in the week, I discussed Sony Corporation's (NYSE: SNE) new PSP system that is set to arrive in the fall. It didn't make me want to buy the stock. And I don't think the Nintendo DS has anything to worry about.

Now, I'd like to mention a smart move by Nintendo (OTC: NTDOY). According to reports, Nintendo is programming a new Super Mario Bros. adventure for the Wii. What's really cool about it is the fact that it isn't 3D. Now, don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with 3D games. But I always think the idea of returning Mario to his 2D roots is a good one. That kind of environment is where Mario really shines; 2D is in the plumber's DNA, believe me.

According to reports, Sony will be releasing the PSP Go this fall. The big thing about the unit is that it will be small. Oh, and it will be driven by downloaded games and other content. And, quite honestly, I'm not sure it's going to offer up a lot of significant competition to the Nintendo DS.

The news flow is abuzz this week with stats about Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) and its Xbox 360 console. According to reports, the company has sold 30 million units of the gaming hardware around the world. Nintendo Co., Ltd. (OTC: NTDOY) is still in first place with 50 million Wii consoles sold. And Sony Corporation (NYSE: SNE)? Well, the PlayStation 3 is decidedly third with roughly 22 million systems moved through retail channels. And don't give me that Xbox-360-had-a-year-over-Sony excuse. Doesn't matter. Microsoft has so far played it well.

But I'd like to see Microsoft do even better when it comes to the Xbox 360. I think, out of all the investments Microsoft makes that are outside of the core operating system asset, the Xbox 360 is the one with the most potential promise.

Moody's cut Sony Corp.'s (NYSE: SNE) long-term ratings from A2 to A3 today. Slowing growth, price declines, and a strong yen were given as the reasons.

The company expects a second consecutive year of losses and is getting ready to kick off a restructuring plan. Nonetheless, the credit rating agency doesn't expect the Japanese electronics firm to overcome the effects of the global financial crisis -- especially for high-end, high-margin products.