Harman Share down 38% yesterday

[4345]

While the growth fundamentals of our core business remain sound, the difficult portable navigation devices environment presents a challenge," Chief Executive Dinesh Paliwal said in a statement.

Paliwal added that the company has posted "higher than planned" R&D engineering and material costs. Harman did not provide a current earnings estimate using generally accepted accounting principles because restructuring costs have not yet been determined. Acquisition and restructuring costs relate to a proposed buyout of Harman by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Co. and GS Capital Partners, an affiliate of Goldman Sachs, for $120 per share in cash. The takeover soured in September, when the buyers expressed concern over the company's financial health.

[boputnam]

Yea, bummer. I thought I'd paste the entire release...

-------

HARMAN INTERNATIONAL REVISES FISCAL YEAR 2008 EARNINGS GUIDANCE
WASHINGTON, D.C. January 14, 2008 – Harman International Industries, Incorporated


(NYSE: HAR) today revised its previously announced guidance for the current fiscal year ending June 30, 2008. The Company now expects non-GAAP diluted EPS for the 2008 fiscal year to be between $3.00 and $3.10, before after-tax merger related costs of $8.0 million, or $0.13 per diluted share but including the impact of the Company’s ongoing accelerated share repurchase (ASR). Because the accounting impact of previously announced restructuring charges has not been determined, it is not included in the current estimate and, therefore, no GAAP diluted EPS for the fiscal 2008 year is provided.


The change in guidance was prompted primarily by a major shift in the market for Portable Navigation Devices (PNDs). In recent months this sector has experienced significant pricing pressure which is affecting the entire industry. “While the growth fundamentals of our core business remain sound, the difficult PND environment presents a challenge. As we have indicated previously, we will be launching a record number of automotive infotainment platforms in 2008. Although, we are not happy with the higher than planned R&D engineering and material costs, the additional investment is necessary to deliver the new platforms to our valued customers,” said Dinesh Paliwal, Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “Harman continues to have excellent business prospects, and we are confident that we will capitalize on these opportunities as we position our Company to achieve its full potential.”


The Company is implementing a series of strategic initiatives to optimize its global footprint in manufacturing, engineering and sourcing, to drive profitable growth and to enhance shareholder value. The Company will provide further details on these initiatives during its quarterly earnings conference call on February 5, 2008.


Harman International designs, manufactures and markets a wide range of products for the automotive, consumer and professional markets. Its brands include Harman Kardon®, JBL®, Revel®, Mark Levinson®, Infinity®, Lexicon®, Soundcraft-Studer®, AKG®, Becker® and QNX®. The Company maintains a strong presence in the Americas, Europe and Asia and employs more than 12,000 people. Harman International (www.harman.com (http://www.harman.com)) is a leading manufacturer of high-quality, high-fidelity audio products and electronic systems for the automotive, consumer and professional markets. The Company’s stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the Symbol: HAR.


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Very odd share trading pattern - gaps up and lately, big legs down... :(

[johnaec]

If this trend continues, maybe we can take up a collection here and buy out the company! :D

John

[edgewound]

This whole movement in HAR's stock price and the buyout scenario smells unusual. Can the company's finances and outlook be that bad?

Or...is it orchestrated by the buyers to manipulate the stock price to swoop in at a major discount?

Shareholders....vested Harman employees must be livid...this is a travesty....though HAR has had a great run for more than a decade.

[boputnam]

This whole movement in HAR's stock price and the buyout scenario smells unusual. Can the company's finances and outlook be that bad?In this market, yes. As you know, valuations discount the future - which for any/all consumer products companies looks pretty dicey. Inflation racked up a +4.1% increase for 2007, WITH food and energy (anyone who excludes those two must not eat and not commute = moronic). That bites into discretionary spending, which for years was funded through home equity "drawdowns" through escalating refinancings and also lines of credit. Those sources are now gone. Few save. This situation is squeezing the pocket books, big time.


Or...is it orchestrated by the buyers to manipulate the stock price to swoop in at a major discount? Uh, no. Far too easy to track these days. Any such behavior would be greeted by "big hair" (code name for SEC) knocking at the front door of the buyers.


Shareholders....vested Harman employees must be livid...It hurts that's for sure. Volume tells that some big holders are liquidating - and are not price sensitive. "Hit the bid" is the mantra.

The market is quite unsettled right now. Risk is being repriced at an aggressive rate - just look at the rise in the gold price. Investors are seeking safe havens, but are fickle and freaked. This leads to indiscriminate selling... :(

[hjames]

Harman to Move District Staff to Connecticut

By Thomas Heath - (http://projects.washingtonpost.com/staff/email/thomas+heath/)
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, January 29, 2008; Page D01 (link to WaPo article) (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/28/AR2008012802454.html?hpid=moreheadlines)

Harman International Industries, the multibillion-dollar manufacturer of high-end audio equipment and electronic systems, will move its District headquarters staff to Connecticut by the end of the year, the company said yesterday.

The company this month informed its 30 or so D.C. employees that it will close its Pennsylvania Avenue office and relocate some of them to Stamford, Conn., north of New York City, where the company's new chief executive works.

"This is part of a multi-part move," said Harman spokesman Brad Hoffman. "We currently have corporate employees located in D.C.; Northridge, Calif.; and Stamford; and along with some likely cost savings, the bigger part of the picture is really an attempt to consolidate corporate functions in one location close to the New York financial markets to improve communication between these folks and our executive management team."

Hoffman said he did not know whether the company would technically keep Washington as its headquarters, or whether that designation would change.

The company has more than 11,000 employees in offices and plants around the world. It had more than $3.5 billion in sales in the fiscal year ended June 30.

Most of the D.C. employees are part of the executive team and the financial end of the firm. Some will remain in the Washington area, "if not in the Pennsylvania Avenue offices," Hoffman said.

Hoffman said he did not know whether company Chairman Sidney Harman, an author and philanthropist who is married to Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.), would also relocate.

Sidney Harman is president of the District-based Harman Family Foundation, which has given to such local institutions as the Washington Ballet, the Washington National Cathedral Choral Society and the Phillips Collection. He pledged $20 million for the new Harman Center for the Arts in downtown Washington, which is home to the Shakespeare Theatre Company.

"I would not be surprised if he continues to maintain a presence in the Washington area," Hoffman said.

An assistant to Harman said he was on an airplane yesterday and was unavailable for comment.

Harman International produces cutting-edge electronic equipment, including high-tech home audio systems, concert hall and movie theater sound systems, and automobile infotainment digital platforms. Its nameplates include JBL, Harman Kardon, Mark Levinson and Infinity.

The move follows several turbulent years for the company. Last April Harman negotiated a deal to sell the firm to buyout giants Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Goldman Sachs for $8 billion, only to see the deal collapse a few months later when KKR and Goldman reneged. The deal would have allowed shareholders to maintain an interest in the company once it went private.

Harman and KKR/Goldman then reached a compromise in which the buyout firms purchased $400 million worth of Harman's senior bonds at an interest rate of 1.25 percent. The investment allowed the buyout firms to avoid paying a $225 million termination fee.

The company last year also hired a new chief executive, Dinesh Paliwal, after a year-long search. A previous chief executive, Douglas A. Pertz, was let go with a $3.8 million severance package after only four months on the job.

Paliwal has offices in Stamford, where several other Harman managers have joined him. Hoffman said the company did not have a manufacturing facility in Stamford, "but it's close to properties we have in Woodbury, Long Island, as well as smaller Harman facilities in the state of Connecticut."

Harman stock took a nosedive two weeks ago, shortly before the company cut its earnings forecast. Its shares closed at $42.37 yesterday, up 9.5 percent. The stock is down 66 percent from its 52-week high.

[johnaec]

A previous chief executive, Douglas A. Pertz, was let go with a $3.8 million severance package after only four months on the job.:blink: I'm sure stockholders just loved that demonstration of fiscal responsibility. I wonder how much research went into hiring him? :biting:

John

[Ian Mackenzie]

If this trend continues, maybe we can take up a collection here and buy out the company! :D

John

John,

In a simplistic sense its the nerve or lack of it that is creating this type of short term risk / opportunistic thinking.

A business the size of Harman and the types of markest could be doing everthing right and the shares will be all over ther place.

Although if it took that long to find a new CEO you could be forgiven for thinking if you pay peanuts you get monkeys or its just too difficult to manage.I wonder how the rest of the board measures up?

That lack of confidence in the U.S and the sub prime lending problem has wiped billions off the Australian share market recently.

[boputnam]

I wonder how much research went into hiring him? Quite a bit.

From 1998 to 2004, Pertz was with IMC Global as President & CEO, then CEO & Chairman. IMC merged with Cargill to form Mosaic, a worldwide powerhouse in fertilizers.

Certainly HAR sought Pertz for his worldwide knowledge. It could be that what needs to be changed at HAR could not be righted by any single incoming CEO? Legacy is legacy and wonderous as it is, it plagues many companies that struggle to evolve with their market. Pertz clearly did not see eye-to-eye with the Board on what needs be done.

Pertz has experience in things business, and would not have agreed the position without a guarantee.

[trueview]

(HAR) with a p/e under 10 it seems like a buy...imo

[edgewound]

From 1998 to 2004, Pertz was with IMC Global as President & CEO, then CEO & Chairman. IMC merged with Cargill to form Mosaic, a worldwide powerhouse in fertilizers.


Pertz has experience in things business, and would not have agreed the position without a guarantee.

Well that proves he knows his sh*t, but certainly doesn't have a grasp of the global electronics bizness.

Wouldn't the economy be so much better if we all got a multi-million dollar guarantee in the case that we can't do our jobs?

CEO compensation has got to change....this arena is just plain stupid. Guarantee millions to fail? This thinking is perverted.

C'mon Mr. Bush....up that stimulus to $3.8 mill each, please.....now that'll work.

[boputnam]

Well that proves he knows his sh*t, but certainly doesn't have a grasp of the global electronics bizness.Could be true - that is the easy guess by his departure.

It could also be the hard decisions he recommended were not taken, and in the process the Board was disillusioned by his vision of what HAR needed to do to succeed today. Remember, HAR was left at the altar of a pvt equity deal gone sour. Maybe Pertz engineered that, if floundered for reasons we can only speculate on, and Pertz lost confindence in the Board's previously stated willingness (and eagerness...?) for change.


Guarantee millions to fail? This thinking is perverted.No, he was not given a "guarantee to fail" - that would be overtly absurd. The fact he was given the departure payment attests to the strength of his employment contract which must have had sufficient protections in the event the Board off'd him without cause. If he had failed to fulfill his obligations as CEO the Board could have dismissed him with cause and no payout. The payout suggests they agreed to disagree and HAR is trying another tack.

[boputnam]

...his employment contract which must have had sufficient protections in the event the Board off'd him without cause. :yes:

From the HAR Form 8-K filed with the SEC, 24 April, 2006, containing Pertz's employment contract:

[edgewound]

Could be true - that is the easy guess by his departure.

It could also be the hard decisions he recommended were not taken, and in the process the Board was disillusioned by his vision of what HAR needed to do to succeed today. Remember, HAR was left at the altar of a pvt equity deal gone sour. Maybe Pertz engineered that, if floundered for reasons we can only speculate on, and Pertz lost confindence in the Board's previously stated willingness (and eagerness...?) for change.

No, he was not given a "guarantee to fail" - that would be overtly absurd. The fact he was given the departure payment attests to the strength of his employment contract which must have had sufficient protections in the event the Board off'd him without cause. If he had failed to fulfill his obligations as CEO the Board could have dismissed him with cause and no payout. The payout suggests they agreed to disagree and HAR is trying another tack.

Apparently...the HAR Board is to blame, then...because the rest of the business world saw something they didn't.



This is from Forbes.com:

http://images.forbes.com/media/assets/spacer_white.gif
Douglas Pertz’s (http://www.forbes.com/finance/mktguideapps/personinfo/FromPersonIdPersonTearsheet.jhtml?passedPersonId=9 39245) arrival at Harman International Industires less than four months ago was inauspicious: the audio electronics maker’s stock fell 10% the day after the announcement in April, although you could attribute that to a 4-cent-per-share earnings miss that was reported at the same time.
Still, you have to wonder why a guy with a resume that included a paper company and a salt maker was named chief executive of a consumer-electronics concern.
One analyst wondered aloud on the company’s quarterly earnings conference call, and founder Sidney Harman sounded pretty sure of his choice. “We vetted this guy quite thoroughly,” Harman International (nyse: HAR (http://finapps.forbes.com/finapps/jsp/finance/compinfo/CIAtAGlance.jsp?tkr=HAR) - news (http://www.forbes.com/markets/company_news.jhtml?ticker=HAR)- people (http://www.forbes.com/peopletracker/results.jhtml?startRow=0&name=&ticker=HAR)) said. “The thing that I thought separated Doug from the rest was experience.”
Thing is, the experience wasn’t in electronics, as Harman acknowledged. “We have a very interesting business. It is almost impossible to imagine finding a chief executive officer with significant technical experience in the particular field of our engagement. And so what we look for is a literacy in that arena and we found it flourishing in Doug Pertz.”
Fast forward to Tuesday, and the company had changed its, um, tune: “Doug Pertz is a man of integrity and talent, and we wish him well in his future endeavors,” it said in a news release, announcing his rapid departure, which, Harman said, came about by mutual agreement..
On Tuesday, Banc of America Securities analyst Ronald Tadross said his checks at the time Pertz took the helm "gave us reservations about the relevance of his experience, and we think this course correction will free Harman to appoint a more suitable candidate."
Maybe, but you could excuse shareholders for being impatient; the company’s stock, which closed at $102.20 the day before Pertz’s appointment was announced is down to $81.26, the last 4% of that slide occurring on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Kevin Brown, Harmon's chief financial officer, will take over as vice chairman and keep his role as CFO, the company said.
A company spokesman reached via telephone Tuesday said Harman doesn't know what Pertz's future plans are.



I guess you can say "business is business". But unfortunately....not all industries are the same.

[boputnam]

Apparently...the HAR Board is to blame, then...because the rest of the business world saw something they didn't...Yeah, relevant experience would seem a must. One wonders where that nomination started from, and how it won support. :dont-know

[DavidF]

Thing is, the experience wasn’t in electronics, as Harman acknowledged. “We have a very interesting business. It is almost impossible to imagine finding a chief executive officer with significant technical experience in the particular field of our engagement. And so what we look for is a literacy in that arena and we found it flourishing in Doug Pertz.”
:dont-know

I believe this is a concession to the problems HK had in trying to find the ideal candidate. Often times a CEO candidate is sought with certain leadership capabilities that override requirements for technical or industry-specific experience. Certainly related industry experience is a plus but how many candidates are out there? There are not many US based CE holding companies the size of HK to draw from.

[edgewound]

I believe this is a concession to the problems HK had in trying to find the ideal candidate. Often times a CEO candidate is sought with certain leadership capabilities that override requirements for technical or industry-specific experience. Certainly related industry experience is a plus but how many candidates are out there? There are not many US based CE holding companies the size of HK to draw from.

You can't...realistically...overlook the possibility that he was a member of the right Country Club.

When Dr. Harman said that "he had a literacy in this arena..." just how deep did his literacy go?

The current CEO of HAR, Dinesh Paliwal seems to understand the recurring levels of R&D expenditures in this industry to keep innovating for the future of the companies survival. Had the investment bankers had their way, you would see Harman Int'l broken up and sold for the sum of it's parts. Is that a good thing? In the short term maybe. In the long term, we would probably see the stable of Harman's US brands under the ownership of Chinese and Indian companies.

It seems all the qualified exec talent in CE corporations these days has been bought by Samsung, Sony, Pioneer.

It wouldn't surprise me in the least to find near future accumulation of HAR stock by....you guessed it....Goldman Sachs. What they care about most is maximizing their return on capital. They really don't care about individual businesses. They care about at what price they buy and sell the stock.

Actually owning and running a business is far too dirty for Wall Street investment bankers.

And please don't tell me the "Big Haired" SEC will be knocking on their doors. GS probably has a few friends in there too.

Call me cynical. Call me a realist.

[duaneage]

This is a huge drop for HAR, I hope they recover.

My limited experience in the area of CEO headhunting comes from working at a large Biomedical maker years ago. They hired a CEO from one of the phone companies to be CEO. Nobody could figure out why they went so far out of the industry for someone and gave a golden parachute to boot. Within 4 years he ws gone, took his cash out with him, and a few minions left as well.

The problem was there were no preceived candidates to be promoted into the job. The founder was getting older adn spent a long time trying to find an heir. The business was finally sold to a large conglomerate and they liquidated the company. I won't name names but it was one of the bigger whales that ate us.

I hope HAR does not end up in the hands of Chinese concerns or face a worse fate.

[RKLee]

.
.
That lack of confidence in the U.S and the sub prime lending problem has wiped billions off the Australian share market recently.Wow, that is sad, but this gives the old saying, "When the USA sneezes, the rest of the world catches a cold" a whole new meaning. Who says that the US is not important in the world market place. Wiping out billions of dollars whether it is AUS or USA is not fun.

[RKLee]

This is a huge drop for HAR, I hope they recover.

My limited experience in the area of CEO headhunting comes from working at a large Biomedical maker years ago. They hired a CEO from one of the phone companies to be CEO. Nobody could figure out why they went so far out of the industry for someone and gave a golden parachute to boot. Within 4 years he ws gone, took his cash out with him, and a few minions left as well.

The problem was there were no preceived candidates to be promoted into the job. The founder was getting older adn spent a long time trying to find an heir. The business was finally sold to a large conglomerate and they liquidated the company. I won't name names but it was one of the bigger whales that ate us.

I hope HAR does not end up in the hands of Chinese concerns or face a worse fate.I have dealt with a few consulting companies, not excutive head hunting, but many of them have MBAs, PhDs staff from the Ivy League schools, but they no real experience in the industry they are trying to hire for. They need people who are familiar with the industry. In today's economic environment, one mistake can be a fatal one and so the new CEO must make the correct decision every time, one wrong move and you're toast. Remember "you must choose wisely."

In Harmon's case, they need a entertainment industry guy, whether movie or music doesn't matter.

I am hoping beyond hope, that Harmon will NOT end up like Altec.

Here is an idea, is there any chance of bringing Sydney Harmon back into the picture?

[duaneage]

Today's business leaders look at megatrends, trendy management ideas, and the latest management fad. Next come the cost cutters adn outsourcers that claim to find gold among the rocks of the old ways of doing things. After that we have the 26 Year Old business school grads being put in charge of 10, 20, 25 year employees who are treated like idiots because they didn't go to business school.

And far down the line, at the bottom, somewhere, is the lowly customer. Marketing does not know nor care what they want, it's their (preceived) job to invent what people need and find a way to sell them more of it every year. I think what drives Ebay sales of vintage items is the yearning for what really worked for people, not what we are advertised about. Maybe it'd the notion of buying an object that is NOT being touted all over TV or is in short supply for the holidays. HAR sells old school blue faced studio monitors ONLY in Japan for Heaven's sake. I think that is incredibly dumb given the huge demand for 30 year old systems on Ebay today.

Not only do we now live in a throwaway, outsourced, commodity driven world, it's a place where things change so fast you have to make your mark quick and cash out in a hurry. Name someone in business for the long haul, willing to slowly build a reputation and take a few hits today for a better tomorrow.

If all this sounds old fashion, it is. And that is why I still work for a large non-caring company and not for myself. I'm not sure I could be a modern businessman for long.

[clmrt]

"Today's business leaders look at megatrends, trendy management ideas, and the latest management fad. Next come the cost cutters adn outsourcers that claim to find gold among the rocks of the old ways of doing things. After that we have the 26 Year Old business school grads being put in charge of 10, 20, 25 year employees who are treated like idiots because they didn't go to business school.

And far down the line, at the bottom, somewhere, is the lowly customer. Marketing does not know nor care what they want, it's their (preceived) job to invent what people need and find a way to sell them more of it every year. "

"Not only do we now live in a throwaway, outsourced, commodity driven world, it's a place where things change so fast you have to make your mark quick and cash out in a hurry. Name someone in business for the long haul, willing to slowly build a reputation and take a few hits today for a better tomorrow."


If you don't mind, I'd like to copy this and staple it to the wall of my cubicle.

[duaneage]

If you don't mind, I'd like to copy this and staple it to the wall of my cubicle.
Go ahead, you have my blessing.

It's a bit quick but it sums up my take on how things are done anymore.

[clmrt]

Since we channged OS at work (JBA to Oracle) inventory and material handling has gone completely out if control. It's so bad that rather than doing my normal strategic planning, I'm doing tactical hit and run operations to keep our field guys running.

After nearly three years and all the 6sigma you can shake a stick at, our management has lost faith in our ability to do our jobs. Now they are telling us we should be doing what we did several years ago, to which we reply - "WE KNOW!"

But, at the same time, they treat us like we should explain what we do, why we do it, and why - at the same time - we can't do our regular jobs. They don't understand that all this "discussion" and "management education" is fruitless unless THEY put it to real use. But instead of listening and changing people's poor behavior (not following established processes) they use this feedback to shop for expensive consultants, two of which I had the pleasure of meeting yesterday.

Net result is everyone sees this as a problem with how we use Oracle. But Oracle works if you understand it - and most of our people don't. And that's what is messing it all up.

I'm going to take good advantage of my time with these consultants.

Sorry for the rant. Back to your regularly scheduled thread....

[duaneage]

I've also experienced six sigma. My condolences.

[AdamimAdam]

This tube amp for IPOD's:blink:
May seem silly enough but at $760 it could be just the new age kinda stuffage that people want. Including my sister.
One critic described it as light bulbs. LOL:applaud:

"Word" has it that its made by a former Hardon Employee.
Heres a link for a good look see.

Gota admit its a pretty nice toy.
Roth Audio (http://www.rothaudio.co.uk/docs/products/products.shtml)

[Robh3606]

I've also experienced six sigma. My condolences.

I find these rants funny becasue I have been there as well. Oracle sucks! Just go back to manual stock cards to manage your inventory. Iso is no better. If the procedure says to throw the television down a flight of stairs before you put it on the stock shelf that's just fine. Six Sigma is a complete waste of time in management doesn't participate. They never do.

End of rant

Love the warm glow on the IPod. Hey if it's packed with lossless audio??

Yeah I know just like Six Sigma they never are.

Rob:blink:

[4345]

I am not quite sure if Harman is being run by people who care too much about the profitability of the company. With offices in Washington near his wife, perhaps Mr. Harman has lost some of his interest in the business. God knows he does not need the money any more. However, if I were a shareholder I would be a little upset about the company losing half its value so quickly.

We always wonder on this site why they don't market some of the high end JBL items in the U.S. or why some of the products JBL comes out with are a little wacky. How do you explain this strange behavior? I think the simple answer is that it is other peoples money that the employees are playing with. I think at some point the other people (shareholders) get pissed. They sell their stock and move on to better run businesses.

I don't wish Harman any ill will. Just the opposite. However, I think those at the top have taken their eyes off the ball a little.

[Rolf]

"But I have the Crystal Ball"!! (FZ)

[johnaec]

We always wonder on this site why they don't market some of the high end JBL items in the U.S...I think it's been well established that the US market is relatively small for high-end JBL's, even though to us in the forums, it seems everyone is looking for the best. How much JBL marketing, (or lack thereof), influences percieved demand is open to question, though I personally don't see what it would hurt to make their Japanese and other foreign models available here...

John

[duaneage]

In the US they market the Array series and the 9800, why not the various blue faced monitors they sell in Japan (with the latest US made drivers) if the high end market is limited here? How many 12000.00 systems are they going to sell, compared to 4000.00 Studio Monitor systems in Japan? Most japanese homes are too small for those systems anyway, I spent quite some time living there and I can't see these large monitors selling there. Sell the 20,000 dollar systems in Japan and bring the blues back over here. A pair of 4338's would go for some massive bucks here, if they weren't so heavy I'd pick up a pair on my way back from Korea next time I go.,

GM and Ford are making similar mistakes with Euro specs cars they don't build here. Add to that the environmental rules against diesels (which the green peace Europeans have no problem owning) and it makes you wonder WTH is going on.

[invstbiker]

In the US they market the Array series and the 9800, why not the various blue faced monitors they sell in Japan (with the latest US made drivers) if the high end market is limited here? How many 12000.00 systems are they going to sell, compared to 4000.00 Studio Monitor systems in Japan? Most japanese homes are too small for those systems anyway, I spent quite some time living there and I can't see these large monitors selling there. Sell the 20,000 dollar systems in Japan and bring the blues back over here. A pair of 4338's would go for some massive bucks here, if they weren't so heavy I'd pick up a pair on my way back from Korea next time I go.,

GM and Ford are making similar mistakes with Euro specs cars they don't build here. Add to that the environmental rules against diesels (which the green peace Europeans have no problem owning) and it makes you wonder WTH is going on.

I agree, if the white tower boys opened up the large blue monitor stuff to the US, they might not have this situation. Bulls make $$, Bears make $$ and pigs get slaughtered.

[Ian Mackenzie]

It well established fact but perhap few are prepared to admit that the US economy cannot support the turnover to make / sell those systems there.

Large format monitors with Japanese audiophiles almost sitting on top of them has been the way for decades. ie fact: most of the 4343 production went to Japan. Ironically the 4350 was too big for most US studios

[duaneage]

It well established fact but perhap few are prepared to admit that the US economy cannot support the turnover to make / sell those systems there.

Large format monitors with Japanese audiophiles almost sitting on top of them has been the way for decades. ie fact: most of the 4343 production went to Japan. Ironically the 4350 was too big for most US studios


Japan went through a real estate bubble and recession that lasted for over 12 years. They had deflation for about 7. Their economy was far worse than most believe for a long time.

I stand by my opinion that the Array and 9800 are great systems but overpriced for the US market( and probably most markets except for Dubai) and that they could bring MOST of the blues over here and sell them.

They sell a 4312 for heavens sake, they dropped that model here years ago.

[Ian Mackenzie]

Yeah, yeah and bankers jumped out windows and its irrelevent!

The issue of sales and a particular line that is a very very small aspect of turnover and where it happens is not really relevent to the current share price climate.

What Japan and the region has is the capacity and the desire to spend on this type of product and the demographic in term of income spread per capita of population.

These are totally different issues.

But JBL and Harman would have been out of business a long time ago if they continued on the way they were going (pre globalisation).

Here is an intersting link to investors on one of our web pages:

http://www.nab.com.au/About_Us/0,,91884,00.html

Here is a snap shot of the Bank share prices in recent months.If you relate points 1,2 and 3 to the volume of trades and other events its not to difficult to understand why such fluctuations occurr particularly when investors move their assets out of say mining shares into banking or another market and then panic when Wall Street gets the jitters. Wall treet gets the jitters for all sorts of reasons but when Citibank announces its going to wipe off Billions to account for essentally bad loans this effects investor confidence and they hit all the buttons (points 1,2,3)

Mean while people want to buy the Bank shares because they are so low and we have an increase in equity lending against property.

Good time to buy Harman shares? Maybe.

I have not eye balled the exact scenario for Harman but the principle is the same. Just wait a while.

https://www-au.computershare.com/Investor/Company/TradingGraph.asp?cc=AU&lang=en&bhjs=1&fla=1&issuerid=scaunab&theme=scaunab

[duaneage]

Companies with sound fundamentals are excellent buys right now, one reason the market swings so much day to day. Good investors are looking long term at where companies are going to be 5 or 10 years from now vis a vis their competition.

I don't know if HAR fits the grade but with a solid stable of companies, names and products they should be.