Santa's Gravy Train Jumped the Tracks

But even The Wall Street Journal, which should know better but rarely does, fails to see the new and essential dynamic at play in the "unexpected" speed at which prices on these TVs plummeted.

Neither do the rest of the business media, which this morning are blaming promotions or competition from Wal-Mart (WMT Quote), Target (TGT Quote), Costco (COST Quote) and Home Depot (HD Quote). But promotions were not invented yesterday, and these discounters, while admittedly increasing their efforts to sell electronics, have been around for a long time.

What we are dealing with here is the unprecedented speed at which prices of a new technology fell. Prices of new technology have always trended downward at a reliable pace, but this was something new in terms of pacing, and any investor who wants to understand why needs to put pen to paper and write this down:

The Internet has made price declines in commodity technology products such as flat-screen TVs come much quicker. It takes little time and no mileage costs to check prices online, particularly with price-comparison Web sites. As such, the price declines that used to unfold over, maybe, two years now come fast and furious over the course of a single holiday season, or even a portion of the same.

The Business Press Maven is a volunteer firefighter and knows that for many fires, there is a potential accelerant. Not to belabor the point, but these price cuts -- which have spread like a California brush fire -- have an obvious accelerant: the Internet. It is something to look for in technology's future, at least for commodity products. Consumer electronics retailing has always been a difficult business -- just ask Highland Superstores or Crazy Eddie. But it just got more difficult.

Stormy Weather?

Readers write their Business Press Maven often, and after telling me that my business media criticism is a form of high art and complimenting the devilish good looks that jump from my column photo, they often ask me how there can never be a single case in which weather actually has a meaningful long-term impact on a business.