SONY GOES GLOBAL

Sony announced that it will group its electronics, games, entertainment, Internet and financial operations under a single management team, according to Bloomberg.

The group, given the important-sounding name Global Hub, will oversee the workings of Sony's Internet operations, including planning and will be led by Sony Chairman Nobuyuki Idei, President Kunitake Ando and Chief Financial Officer Teruhisa Tokunaka.

Last year, Sony shares lost almost half their value. As a result, the company has been pursuing a strategy of making products able to be linked in a network. Sony has promoted its PlayStation 2 video game console as a home server, which will eventually be able to receive music, movies and games delivered over the Internet.

"We're hoping to boost profit by linking more appliances and hardware while keeping our electronics business as our core operations," Ando said.