Despite economic woes, TV sales are up

There may be some good economic news after all. During an industry webcast yesterday, the Consumer Electronic Association predicted sales in certain gadget categories will rise despite the gloomy economy. Flat panel TVs and gaming hardware should do well during the holiday shopping season they predict.

The reason? The CEA says people will ride out the stormy economy at home rather than going out to seek entertainment in an effort to save money and fight rising gas prices. Since so many people will now be homebodies, they’ll turn to their TVs, game consoles and portable game machines such as the PSP and Nintendo DS for entertainment.