Tag Archives : economy

For Cisco Stock, ‘Air Pockets’ Trigger Historic Fall

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch)–Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) Chief John Chambers blamed “air pockets” in the market for the company’s weaker-than-expected outlook, suggesting the setback was very temporary.

But the unexpected, and unusual, miss for the tech bellwether–which Chambers attributed partly to weak public sector demand–was so surprising for Wall Street that Cisco’s took its biggest one-day drop in 16 years.

Cisco shares were down 16.2% to close at $20.52 Thursday, the steepest decline since July 1994, according to data from FactSet Research. News by Wall Street

From the Business week
Nov. 11 (Bloomberg) — Disappointing sales and profit forecasts from Cisco Systems Inc. show cutbacks in government spending that pose risks for companies that rely on the sector for growth.

Governments in Europe, Japan and some U.S. states reduced orders as their budgets came under pressure, said John Chambers, chief executive officer of the world’s largest computer networking-equipment maker. State government orders fell 48 percent in the last quarter from the previous period, he said.

Shares slip as Cisco weighs on US stocks

Australian shares are have opened lower after Wall Street fell on a weak outlook from technology giant Cisco.

In early trade, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index fell 18.4 points, or 0.4 per cent, to 4710.2 and the All Ordinaries dropped 16.1 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 4794.2.

The dollar fell below parity overnight, as growing worries over euro-zone debt strengthened the US dollar. The Aussie was recently trading at 99.77 US cents. News by Sidney Morning Herald

Existing US home sales off 27% in July, worse in Midwest. A bigger-than-expected drop in July home sales renewed fears Tuesday that the US economic recovery is stumbling and could be heading for a fall. Sales of previously occupied homes in the United States fell 27 percent in July.

Economists were divided about whether the larger fall-off was temporary or would drag on for many months. “It’s an echo of the ‘cash for clunkers’ program for car sales,” said Dana Johnson, chief economist for Comerica Bank. “People rush in to take advantage of a short-term opportunity provided by the government. Then the opportunity goes away and sales crash for a while.”

Diving home sales stoke new worries about economic recovery. U.S. sales fall for the third consecutive month to the lowest rate since 1999, pushing down stocks and fueling fears of a ‘double dip’ in the housing market.

“You are seeing the sales drop off a cliff again, and that is really starting to scare people,” C.J. Jones, head of institutional trading at Nollenberger Capital Markets, said Tuesday. “Are we going to have a double dip? Nobody knows.”

Biggest U.S. home sales plunge in decades. Sales fell twice as much as forecast, dropping to 3.83 million on an annualized basis, the National Association of Realtors said. The median forecast of economists was 4.65 million, according to a Bloomberg news survey.

“This is a devastating reading on the U.S. housing market,” said Derek Holt, an economist at Scotia Capital Inc. in Toronto. “There’s such an inventory overhang, it shows there will be pressure on prices” in the months ahead.

AP By AP Hewlett-Packard Co. is trying to outbid Dell Inc. to buy the data storage provider 3Par Inc. Here are some details on 3Par: A: 3Par makes and sells “storage utilities,” or groups of specialized computers designed to store data that are … (A Few Questions and Answers About 3Par’s Business) Hewlett-Packard said Monday it has submitted a bid to acquire 3PAR for $24 in cash, for a total of $1.6 billion. The bid is a 33% premium above the $18 per share Dell offered last week. Shares of 3PAR are higher by 42%. From the Hawlett-Packard co headline news.

HP Is So Subpar It Overpays for 3PAR – Today’s Outrage – If HP(HPQ) is trying to show that it’s not on auto pilot under an interim CEO, then the decision to battle Dell (DELL) for 3PAR(PAR) is an expensive way to do it. … Hewlett-Packard this morning said it has submited a $1.6 billion bid to buy 3Par, just a week after Dell had agreed to buy the virtualized storage maker for $1.15 billion from HP bids $1.6 billion for 3Par.

The Japan Yen rose toward a seven-week high against the euro as signs the global economy is slowing boosted demand for Japan’s currency as a refuge. OJ Gov, PM Kan Discussed Recent FX Moves By Phone 

 While the Nikkei edges down hurt by economy worries Japan’s Nikkei fell 0.4 percent on Monday, dented by what some market players said was selling by hedge funds and foreign investors amid worries that a strong yen would derail a fragile economic recovery and lingering fears about global economic growth.

Dollar falls to lower 85 yen level after Kan-Shirakawa talks – The U.S. dollar fell to the lower 85 yen level Monday morning in Tokyo as the yen drew buying following news that Prime Minister Naoto Kan and Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa did not discuss whether to intervene in the currency market to stem the Japanese currency’s recent rise during their talk earlier in the day.

Among the biggest reasons for a fresh round of stimulus is the strength of the yen against many other major currencies, dragging on Japan’s vital export … Japan’s stimulus, forex plans remain uncertain

Highlight news and summary news for today about Intel‘s McAfee  acquisition

Intel’s McAfee acquisition a mobile play

Intel’s acquisition of security company McAfee could help the chip maker make a splash in the handheld and embedded markets, in which the company has struggled to establish a presence, according to analysts.

Intel on Thursday announced plans to acquire McAfee for US$7.68 billion, saying this will help the chip maker blend advanced hardware and software security to protect devices from internal and external threats. Hardware and software changes will improve both Intel and McAfee products, and lead to improved security for products ranging from servers to mobile devices, Intel said.

“The bottom line is this will better protect Internet users and their devices,” said Intel CEO Paul Otellini, during a conference call to discuss the acquisition.

Read more at Businessweek

Intel, After McAfee Deal, May Find Mobile Security a Hard Sell

Intel Corp. Chief Executive Officer Paul Otellini, with the $7.68 billion acquisition of security software maker McAfee Inc., is betting that customers will pay to guard against attacks that have yet to materialize.

Otellini yesterday announced his company’s largest-ever takeover, aimed at adding McAfee’s security software to products sold by Intel, the world’s largest maker of chips for computers.

McAfee would help Intel get semiconductors laden with security features into smartphones, cars, televisions and other devices. Yet that may prove a hard sell for consumers and businesses unconvinced that mobile electronics are vulnerable to the same threats that plague computers, said Alex Vallecillo, a fund manager at PNC Capital Advisors LLC.

“The premise is there’s a market for mobile security,” said Vallecillo, whose firm sold its Intel shares earlier this year. “So far, I haven’t heard about massive virus attacks hitting smartphones or iPads.”

Read more at Bloomberg.com

McAfee has what Intel wants: a rising stock

Intel /quotes/comstock/15*!intc/quotes/nls/intc  (INTC  18.90, -0.69, -3.52%) surprised Wall Street by announcing early Thursday that it was bidding $7.68 billion in cash, or $48 a share, to buy security software maker McAfee.

Some Wall Street analysts might quibble about the 60% premium Intel is paying, as the bid lifted McAfee’s /quotes/comstock/13*!mfe/quotes/nls/mfe  (MFE  47.01, +17.08, +57.07%) stock. But perhaps what investors should be most encouraged about is that Intel didn’t just pick a company that had a good product in what it believes is a growing business. Intel bought a company that has something the chip maker doesn’t have — a stock that’s been trending sharply higher for the last 10 years.

Read more at marketwatch.com