Howard Stringer to step down?

TURNING JAPANESE…AGAIN: Sony Corp. Chairman/CEO Howard Stringer may pass the mantle to his successor at the end of the troubled company’s fiscal year in March, the N.Y. Post reports, citing sources familiar with the situation. But if he opts to relinquish the CEO title next spring, Stringer will likely stay on as Chairman. Sony hasn’t made any official announcement about Stringer’s future or his successor, although it is widely believed that Executive Deputy President Kazuo Hirai will take the top slot. (11/3a)