Hitachi to stop making televisions

Japanese high-tech giant Hitachi said it will stop making televisions by the end of September as intense price competition hurts TV earnings at many electronics manufacturers worldwide. Hitachi will "terminate television production by the end of September" in Japan, said Sayori Nishino, a company spokeswoman, having already outsourced overseas TV manufacturing to foreign firms in 2009. But it will still sell televisions branded with its "Wooo" logo made by contractors. For Japanese manufacturers in various sectors the surging yen has weighed on sales in foreign markets by making Japan-made products more expensive, as well as reducing the value of repatriated earnings. Ratings agency Moody's last week downgraded both Sony and Panasonic, citing losses in the two firms' TV divisions, among other factors. Television manufacturers around the world have been badly hit by rampant competition and minuscule margins, making profits difficult to squeeze out with consumers increasingly unwilling to shell out sky-high prices for sets.