After Sony’s dramatic announcement that it made only Y11bn ($118m) in second-quarter operating profits, attention this week will be on rivals Panasonic , which reports on Tuesday, and Nintendo, which announces first-half results on Thursday .

Panasonic is forecasting an operating profit of Y200bn. Its executives have made bullish comments while reports of cost cuts and strong sales of home appliances have led to rumours that it will beat that number by 10 per cent.