Sony Shares Hit 32-Year Low As Currency Prices Fluctuate

Sony can't seem to catch a break. Its stock on the Tokyo exchange today fell below 1,000 yen, the first time that has happened since 1980 when the Walkman reigned. The 1.7% drop to 996 yen ' equal to $12.75 ' was largely due to investor concerns about the strength of the Japanese currency vs the euro and the dollar. Last week the each euro bought 95.6 yen, the strongest performance for the currency since 2000, while each dollar bought 77.66 yen, the highest exchange rate for Japan since February, Bloomberg reports.  But the changes take a toll on Sony. Its sales decline by 10B yen for each 1 yen drop against the euro, and by 50B yen for each 1 yen drop vs the dollar. That just compounds the problems faced by Sony's new CEO Kazuo Hirai. Following four years of losses, last month he cut the company's current fiscal year profit forecast in half as Sony struggles to boost sales of its TV sets and PlayStation 3 game consoles.