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Cablevision profit rises on Web subcribers

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Cablevision Systems Corp posted a higher quarterly profit on Thursday as it added more Internet and telephone customers.

But the New York-based cable operator also lost more video customers than expected and posted a reduction in the number of total products sold for first time in recent years as pressure from the weak economy hurt growth.

"For the first time, there are signs that Cablevision's past success is finally catching up with it," said Bernstein Research analyst Craig Moffett.

Cablevision, which has more than 3 million customers overall, added 9,600 Internet subscribers and 9,300 phone subscribers during the quarter. But it lost 24,500 basic video customers.

Analysts at Bernstein Research had forecast Internet additions of 12,000 subscribers and phone additions of 18,000 subscribers. Bernstein had also expected Cablevision to lose just 14,000 basic video customers.

Cablevision has one of the highest penetration rates for selling combinations of video, Internet and phone services to customers in its area -- relative to other cable companies. This could end up being a disadvantage for growth going forward, said Moffett.

"Cablevision faces a greater risk of saturation than any of its peers," he said.

Cablevision had been locked in a high-profile programing fee dispute with News Corp which resulted in the blackout of Fox local stations in New York and Philadelphia for 15 days until the two sides resolved their differences last week.

While the company declined to say how many customers in the current quarter had canceled their subscriptions due to the Fox outage, Cablevision President Tom Rutledge said the standoff was justified.

"Our behavior was not uneconomic," Rutledge said on a conference call. "We were doing a rational thing." He explained that the number of losses was justified by the kind of deal it was able to reach with Fox.

Third-quarter net profit was $112.1 million, or 37 cents a share, compared with $98.9 million, or 33 cents a share, a year ago.

Revenue rose 5.6 percent to $1.81 billion.

Analysts on average had forecast profit of 41 cents a share on revenue of $1.79 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Cablevision has been successful in driving up the average revenue per user by 5.7 percent to $149.04.

Shares of Cablevision were up 3 percent at $28.46 on the New York Stock Exchange at midday.

Space station dodges piece of old NASA satellite

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The International Space Station has steered clear of space junk.

Flight controllers fired thrusters on the space station Tuesday morning. That moved the orbiting lab and its crew of six safely away from a chunk of an old NASA research satellite.

The debris originally was projected to come within one-tenth of a mile of the space station. The latest estimate put the close approach at a half-mile. Because of the uncertainty, NASA elected to move the space station.

NASA says the space station relocation will have no significant impact on next Monday's launch of the space shuttle Discovery. Discovery launched the atmospheric research satellite in 1991.

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Online:

NASA: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html

Texas heightens border patrols amid Mexico violence

WASHINGTON — Texas has heightened border patrols in the wake of escalating violence in northern Mexico, the governor's office said Tuesday.

"With the growing threat of violence in Mexico spilling over the border, we have taken important measures to increase the law enforcement presence along the Texas border and have placed additional resources on standby to combat any potential situation," Governor Rick Perry said in a statement.

Perry has a standing request with the federal government for 1,000 National Guardsmen to support civilian law enforcement efforts and has also asked for predator drones to monitor the Texas-Mexico border.

He said the porous border puts both Texas and the nation at risk from organized crime cartels, international terrorists and transnational gangs.

"It is imperative that the federal government immediately provide additional resources to prevent spillover violence, but with the safety of Texans on the line, we can't afford to wait," Perry said.

Perry activated the first stage of the state's "spillover violence contingency plan" which increases ground, air and maritime patrols and places various strike teams on standby for rapid deployment.

President Felipe Calderon headed to Mexico's most violent city Tuesday after deadly attacks on US consular staff and their families upped the ante in his battle against drug gangs.

Mexican authorities blamed the murders on "the Aztecas," a gang linked to the powerful Juarez drug cartel, as US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Drug Enforcement Administration and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents rushed to Ciudad Juarez.

The border city of 1.3 million sits across the river from El Paso, Texas and is at the heart of Calderon's controversial clampdown on organized crime, which has seen some 50,000 troops deployed countrywide.

More than 15,000 people have died in the surge in drug-related violence since Calderon took office at the end of 2006, including more than 2,600 last year alone in Ciudad Juarez.

Sony Pictures says to lay off 450 workers

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Sony Pictures plans to lay off 450 employees, or 6.5 percent of its workforce, in coming weeks to combat falling DVD sales, online piracy and other factors hurting long-term growth.

Sony Pictures Entertainment, a division of Sony Corp said on Monday most of the layoff notifications will be completed by the first week of March.

More than half the layoffs will occur in home entertainment and the information technology group, the company said.

"We are going through a painful time now, and the next couple of months are going to be challenging for everybody," Amy Pascal, co-chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment, said in a video message to employees.

Sony Pictures last week restructured its home entertainment division, shuffling the executive team for that unit in a move tied to the restructuring.

Aside from laying off 450 employees, Sony Pictures also said it plans to close 100 open positions.

In a memo to employees, Pascal and Michael Lynton, Chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures, said Sony was adjusting to the growth of online piracy, the effects of online social media on box office performance, and changes in DVD buying habits.

"The business is going through a rough period of trial and transition, and we have an obligation to take the steps necessary to get through it," the memo said.

Sanyo rolls electric bicycles into US market

LAS VEGAS, Nevada — Japanese electric bicycle titan Sanyo thinks that notoriously car-loving folks in the United States are prime for pedal power.

Eneloop "pedal-assist" bicycles that had been exclusively available in Japan made a US debut at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, where attendees got to saddle-up and ride in a carpeted casino hotel ballroom.

"We think of it as an electric vehicle," David Politis of Sanyo North America said before letting AFP take one for a spin.

"It is designed for people who want to commute to work and not be sweaty or who want to get back on the bike for the first time and may be out of shape, or even a mom who needs a little help pedaling to keep up with the kids."

A "dynamotor" built into the hub of the front wheel charges a bicycle's battery when it is cruising downhill or a rider is braking.

The motor kicks in when a rider pedals, providing a virtual wind at one's back and making inclines feel more like flat terrain. Each bicycle has three gears changed with twists of a handlebar grip.

Three is a power boost mode for daunting uphill climbs.

Eneloop bicycles weigh in at 50 pounds (23 kilograms) each and the luxury of sweat-free pedaling comes with a steep 2,300-dollar (US) price tag.

"Sanyo thinks it is clear that energy consciousness and environmental awareness continue to grow around the world," Politis said.

"We have to do something to break US dependence on foreign oil."

Most car trips in the US are less than five miles (eight kilometers), and cars pump out the bulk of polluting gases in the first 20 miles (32 kilometers) of a trip, according to statistics cited by Sanyo.

China is reported to be the top market in the world for electric bicycles, with India ranking second and Europe taking the third spot.

Sanyo is the world's top maker of rechargeable batteries, many used in cars or trucks.

Tablets and slates take center stage at trade show

LAS VEGAS, Nevada — Laptops, notebooks, netbooks, smartbooks and now... tablets and slates?

Just when you thought you were familiar with all of the various portable computers on the market new ones appear.

The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) has been a coming out party this year for what are being described as tablet and slate computers, successors to the low-cost netbooks which have been a major hit over the past couple of years.

Experts differ on the precise definition of a tablet and a slate -- and a netbook and a smartbook, for that matter -- but a tablet, while touchscreen, tends to have some buttons. A slate is entirely touch-controlled.

Much of the buzz at CES has surrounded a device that is not even on the showroom floor in Las Vegas -- a tablet computer Apple is expected to unveil at the end of the month believed to resemble a large-screen iPod Touch.

Shawn DuBravac, CEA's chief economist and its director of research, said the new devices are filling a "void" between smartphones and devices with a larger screen.

"We now see a battle for this five- to 15-inch (12.7- to 38.1-centimeter) screen category," he said.

"The real sizzle is the host of devices that transcend the now common standard," said Kevin Dede, an analyst at brokerage Jesup and Lamont. "I'm blown away. It went way beyond my wildest imagination."

"Samsung doesn't have just one tablet but four!" he said.

Among the more interesting models is the hybrid IdeaPad U1 from China's Lenovo, which looks like a classic lightweight netbook when opened up.

But the 12-inch (30-centimeter) screen detaches from the keyboard and becomes an independent slate computer for watching video, reading or even writing with a virtual keyboard.

Microsoft's Brad Brooks said the arrival of new models, many of which run on the software giant's Windows 7 operating system, shows "the PC business is back in a big way.

"This is all stuff that is exploding again," he said. "We are showing the diversity of the devices that are starting to come out."

Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer unveiled a prototype of a slate computer from Hewlett-Packard in his opening keynote speech at CES along with two others from other manufacturers.

"It's a beautiful little product," Ballmer said, adding that it was "perfect for reading, for surfing the Web and for taking entertainment on the go."

Ballmer said the HP device, which is not being displayed in Las Vegas, and others in what he called an "emerging category" of personal computers would be available later this year.

One of the other models on stage was from China's Pegatron, a slate which allows users to surf the Internet but also features classic Windows programs such as Office.

The other device was the Archos 9, which won praise from Forrester analyst J.P. Gownder, who said Microsoft was unveiling the products even ahead of their availability to get the jump on Apple.

"They need to showcase a lot of new ways that people can use it," he said.

While the slates have captured a lot of attention, many here are ready to be surprised by whatever Apple has up its sleeve.

"Every time they break into a new category it's usually with the help of content," said Dede, citing the success of the iPod music player and its ground-breaking iTunes online music store.

"We suspect that content relationships will be critical," agreed Gownder.