Priced to Sell

Some holiday forecasts predict a cooler reception for high-ticket items, and two consumer electronics companies appear to be taking heed. Sony and Compaq announced notable price cuts on the companies'high-end laptop computers. Sony, for example, has marked down the price of its Vaio Z505 from $3099 to $2899, plus a $100 rebate.

According to PC Data hardware analyst, Stephen Baker, the cost of most popular laptops could fall from about $3400 to $2900 by Christmas. The reason for the markdown, he says, could be Sony's recent success. Other retailers, like Compaq, Hewlett-Packard and Toshiba, will probably follow suit to protect/improve their market share.