Hastings Entertainment, Inc.Amarillo, TX, United States (NASDAQ (GM): HAST)

Fewer Kids Allowed Access to Mature Video Games - The latest nationwide undercover shopping sting by the FTC finds that video game retailers are doing a good job preventing unaccompanied children from buying video games intended for mature audiences. The survey, using 13- to-16-year-old undercover shoppers, finds that 20 percent of underage teenagers are able to buy mature video games, down from more than 40 percent in 2006. The most vigilant video game retailer is GameStop, rejecting 94 percent of underage shoppers, followed by Best Buy, which turned away 80 percent.

Big-Box Stores Threaten Computer Retailers - Sales at large computer retailers rose 15.6 percent in 2007 compared to less than 1 percent in 2006, according to TWICE and The Stevenson Company. Best Buy and Dell remain numbers 1 and 2 in the rankings; however, much of the growth is driven by big-box retailers like Wal-Mart, which climbed to the number 3 spot. Wal-mart's increased share in the computer sales' pie is due partly to the 2007 deal it struck with Dell to sell the computer maker's products in its stores.

Blockbuster Pulls Plug on Circuit City Acquisition - Dallas-based movie rental chain Blockbuster said in April 2008 that it planned to acquire fledgling consumer electronics retailer Circuit City, only to withdraw the proposal in July 2008. After Blockbuster reviewed Circuit City's books, it determined that the retailer's declining financial performance, plus Blockbuster's own dwindling stock price, made its bid ill-conceived. Blockbuster will continue, however, to look for ways to bring media content and electronic devices together in its attempt to become a one-stop home entertainment shop.