Stocks slide in new markets meltdown
Publisher share prices fall as the US markets lose 4% after record AIG losses
The volatile economic climate struck videogames publishers again yesterday as the fallout from record USD 61.7 billion losses at insurance firm AIG sent the markets into another downward spiral, with the NASDAQ shedding 4 per cent of its value, and the Dow Jones dropping 4.2 per cent.
That combined with wider concerns over losses and staff cuts to hit Electronic Arts, Take-Two Interactive and THQ particularly, although few companies were immune.
THQ, already troubled by analysts questioning its long-term future, fell by almost 10 per cent across the day, to USD 2.26, while Take-Two fell by almost 9 per cent to USD 5.65.
EA's stock dropped by 6 per cent to USD 15.34, while Activision Blizzard was the most robust of the main pure-play US publishers, limiting its slide to 1.3 per cent at USD 9.90.
Time Warner and Disney also fell, by 3.5 per cent to USD 7.36 and by 4.3 per cent to USD 16.05 respectively.