wow, this is...really really bad.
I think the credit agencies were way harsher on them than they should've been. Sony has taken all the right steps toward fixing this mess, and credit rating agencies are just chipping away at them.

Samsung is Korean.

Lol sorry about that. 

This isn't a slow thing though. The ratings are not unfair because they are dealing purely with statistics and what is deemed to be near future gains and losses. Sony has a mountain of debt, are having trouble getting a positive cash flow because of their revenues, profits and debts, and the steps they've taken haven't really proven yet that things can be turned around enough to matter to investors and shareholders. Couple that with no really huge products that will be able to kick them back to monetary success (or at least stable profit) like the iPod did with Apple in the near future and you have a modicum of what the credit agencies see.

They really don't downgrade lightly.

@slimebeast,

leverage effect.

http://news.morningstar.com/classroom2/course.asp?docId=2934&page=3&CN=com

From China, that's a definite possibility for obvious reasons. China's rising in power is a serious concern to many countries because of it's not a democracy and all that stuff everyone knows about. I should have said my comment was regards to a Western country like the US.

There's no way that would be blocked, because there's no democratic way of preventing it. Unless some kind of anti-monopoly card was played, but that would be difficult to pull off as opposed to blocking China, which would be easy enough because of world wide opinion on that scenario taking place.

There's all sorts of stuff that the US are up to blocking Huwei and associated companies on the basis of spying allegations and they're getting away with that one.

But a straight buyout from a company in a Western democratic country like the US, could never be blocked "just because they wanted to". I really can't see any Western based company wanting to take over Sony though due to the bad PR the new entitity would suffer as a result of medalling with things it shouldn't be. This IMO is a lot of where Sony's whole problem comes from.

Antiquated company run on antiquated business ideals and nationalistic values. Recipe for disaster for any Western company to try and get that crap under control without some serious fallout and massive financial risk.

Sony has no taxable income... Even if they had a little bit recently, their NOL's would have wiped that away.

I don't think Japan would let it get to where they had to block a deal from China. Before Sony agreed to anything, chances are Japan would step in, and either bail Sony out or pay a Japanese company to buy Sony.

Not out of worry of "China getting Japan's secrets" though. Just out of pure nationalism and the bad blood between China and Japan.

Wow, that was too complicated for me, at least 3 AM in the morning.

Sounds though that there was a logical explanation to my question of why most companies tend to keep dept instead of paying it off as quickly as possible. I just need to understand more exactly the tricks and motivation. I'll read on further on the site you linked to.

Talk about the facade starting to crumble. It seems that reality is finally starting to overcome partisan bickering. Had something like this been posted six months ago this thread would have been awash in spin, and recriminations would have been made against the original poster as if they had willed the news into existence. That said there is still a little too much softening going on in regards to the truth.

I for one am tired of hearing about how Sony is or was a great company. You don't eat your way to greatness. That is something that comes from within. The reality is pretty simple to understand conglomerates don't have a soul. They just eat whatever looks good to them. Which brings me to my next point Sony isn't great, because it is still trying to eat its way to greatness. Instead of trying to win from within. It is just trying to buy any company it thinks might have greatness within itself.

All Sony is doing right now is binging and purging, and that is in no way whatsoever making the right move. They are gambling on beating the market to that next big thing. Even more damning then that they aren't even being at all particular about what they are picking up. Like a Stoner on a Midnight Munchie run. The rhyme or reason in what they are buying makes no sense, because none of what they are buying particularly works together. Which brings me to my next point.

Sony didn't just start behaving like this recently. They have been restructuring for five years now. Wait did I just say restructuring. Surely they haven't been doing that for five years. After all restructuring is the panacea that is going to cure Sony. Well I hate to be a downer about this, but the medicine hasn't worked yet. To be fair thought Sony hasn't been following the directions on the bottle. When a company restructures it should downsize staff, sell off assets, condense divisions, and cut product lines. While it is true that Sony has done that it has also done things that are just plain counter indicated.

Which brings me back to my original point. Sony isn't a great company, because they haven't learned that business as usual is what was killing them. When you go on a diet you can't go out buying junk food. It is almost like some kind of bent obsessive compulsive disorder entirely divorced from reality. Like a modern day Hearst. There is no real good logic why anyone should be out buying new stuff when the problem is everything else they have is broken. You need to fix your house before you go out to buy new furniture.

The point is this until Sony stops buying shit they are never going to get out of the hole they are digging. The money Sony has blown on acquisitions, incurring debts, and adhering to failed product lines. Is nothing less then gambling on a long shot. There is a time for taking risks, but there is also a time for prudence. Had Sony tried the latter for the past five years they just might be profitable today.