IN BRIEF (Page 17)

Sharp reports $1.3b loss

Japanese electronics maker Sharp Corp suffered an annual net loss of 125.8 billion yen ($1.3 billion), its first yearly red ink in nearly six decades, due to declining demand and increasing competition amid a global economic slump.

Sharp's loss, reported yesterday, was worse than the 100 billion yen loss it had projected in February, and a sharp drop from the 101.9 billion yen profit it earned the year before. The maker of the Aquos line of liquid crystal display televisions said revenue for the fiscal year ended March fell to 2.85 trillion yen ($29.5 billion) from 3.42 trillion yen.