Other tech bellwethers heading lower included Apple (NasdaqGS:AAPL - News), down 2.3 percent at $90.89, and Microsoft Corp (NasdaqGS:MSFT - News), off more than 3 percent at $20.10.
The semiconductor index (^SOXX - News) was down nearly 5 percent after Intel said preliminary fourth-quarter revenue was worse than expected, indicating the heavy toll from the economic slump on both business and consumer spending.
According to ADP, a private employment service, U.S. private employers shed 693,000 jobs in December, up sharply from the revised 476,000 jobs lost in November and far more than economists estimated.
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) -- Intel says its fourth-quarter revenue fell 23 percent from the same period a year earlier, missing its previous outlook because of ongoing weak demand and inventory reductions by its PC maker customers.
The Santa Clara-based chip maker also announced a fourth-quarter impairment charge of about $950 million related to its investment in Clearwire Corp.
Intel estimated quarterly revenue of $8.2 billion, below the $8.74 billion forecast by analysts polled by Thomson Reuters.
Intel Corp., which ships about 80 percent of the world's microprocessors -- the brains of personal computers -- also says its gross margin was at the bottom of its earlier expectation of 55 percent plus or minus a few percentage points.
In November, the company slashed its sales expectations by more than $1 billion, to $9 billion, plus or minus $300 million.
The company now expects to record a loss from equity investments of $1.1 billion to $1.2 billion due to the charge from Clearwire. Previously the company forecast a loss of $50 million from equity investments. (What the heck!! 20x more losses than expected?!!)
Intel shares fell 80 cents, or 5.2 percent, to $14.57 in premarket electronic trading Wednesday.
Conclusion: INTEL SHOULD always try to stick at its core and monopolistic competencies aka BUILDING MICROPROCESSORS!!!
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