UPDATE: Hasbro Net Drops 30%, Hit By Weak Holiday Sales And Dollar's Rise

By Matt Andrejczak

SAN FRANCISCO (Dow Jones) -- Hasbro Inc. reported Monday a 30% decline in quarterly net income, as the holiday sales season proved to be a disappointment and the dollar gained strength.

The world's No. 2 toy maker said it earned $93.6 million, or 62 cents a share, in the fourth quarter. In the year-earlier period, Hasbro made $133.7 million, or 84 cents a share.

Sales fell 5% to $1.23 billion from $1.3 billion. Hasbro said sales started to slow in October as weak consumer spending exacerbated. To spur demand and help toy retailers avoid excess shelf inventories, Hasbro worked with toy retailers to mark down toys priced above $200 and slower-moving items, such as toys tied to movies Indiana Jones and the Hulk.

Excluding the impact of the rising dollar against other global currencies, Hasbro said sales would have risen 1%. Sales of Nerf, Star Wars, Playskool, Littlest Pet Shop and Easy Bake were among the strongest in the fourth quarter.

On Wall Street after the report, Hasbro shares rose 6% to $25.01 in early trading.

Chief Executive Brian Goldner said in a conference call the toy maker's business will improve after March, when it begins to ship toys for movies Transformers 2 and Wolverine and further expands its digital-gaming partnership with Electronic Arts.

"As the year progresses, we would expect to see more momentum around our major movie initiatives and as we roll out our many new brand initiatives this fall" Goldner said.

Last week, toy rival Mattel rattled investors with news that its profit fell 46% on weaker sales.

UPDATE: Amazon Debuts Kindle 2 But Sticks To Same Price

By Jeffry Bartash

NEW YORK (Dow Jones) - Amazon.com on Monday unveiled a slimmer, lighter version of the Kindle, its electronic book reader, with a host of new features but the same price point as the original device.

At a press conference in New York, Amazon Chief Executive Jeff Bezos demonstrated the new device, which will be available for shipping on Feb. 24. Dubbed the Kindle 2, the device is thinner than the popular 3G iPhone and can hold more than 1,500 books. The company also said it has extended the battery life of the product by 25% from the original version.

The new device comes barely a year after Amazon launched the original Kindle, which has been sold out for much of that time. The company has never disclosed specific sales figures for the device, though analysts guess that as many as 500,000 units of the device have been bought.

"We've been selling ebooks for years, and guess what? It didn't work, until fourteen months ago," Bezos said at the event.

The Kindle, originally launched in December 2007, is the first reading device that allows customers to buy and download books without a connection to a computer. The goal of the nation's largest Internet retailer is to use the Kindle to remake the book market for the digital age.

The new version of the device is just 0.36 inches thick and weighs just over 10 ounces. The device offers 2GB of memory capacity that Amazon says will hold more than 1,500 books compared with just 200 books for the original version.

The extended battery life will allow Kindle 2 users to read for 4-5 days on a single charge if the device's wireless service is turned on.

BOND REPORT: Ten-year Treasury Yields Above 3% Before Auctions

By Deborah Levine

Treasurys fell Monday, pushing yields to their highest in more than two months, before the government floods the market with its biggest quarterly refunding package on record.

Ten-year note yields rose 2 basis points, or 0.02%, to 3.01%. It earlier reached 3.05%, the first time above 3% since November.

Two-year note yields increased 2 basis points to 1.01%, the first time above 1% since early December.

Shorter-term securities fared better, with yields a little lower in early trading, amid disappointment in further delays from Washington in the details of a plan to support banks and continuing debate in Congress over the stimulus package.

"This week is all about the challenge of massive supply," said strategists at RBS Greenwich Capital. "The economic environment remains very bond friendly but issuance is problematic."

The Treasury Department sold $31 billion in three-month bills at a rate of 0.345%.

It also sold $30 billion in six-month bills at a rate of 0.488%.

The government's quarterly sales of three- and 10-year bonds and 30-year bonds are the main focus of the market.

On Tuesday, $23 billion in one-year notes and a record $32 billion in three- year notes will be on sale. Wednesday will bring $21 billion in 10-year notes, followed by $14 billion in long bonds the following day. Both long-term debt sales are for the most ever.