The ongoing global wireless slowdown prompted UBS Warburg tech analyst Pip Coburn to remove cell-phone maker Nokia from the firm's top 10 global technology stock picks. The stock lost 7% in Europe, hitting a two-year low. It wound up losing 7% on the NYSE, too. Competitor Ericsson (ERICY) fell 8%.
Adding to the pessimism: trouble-prone telecom-equipment maker Lucent Technologies is being investigated by the feds for possible accounting fraud relating to $679 million in revenue last year, The Wall Street Journal reported. The company has already taken the money off its books, but hasn't said anything about fraud. Its stock tanked another 9% Friday.
And Dell Computer, which last month warned of missed profit expectations, is now about to announce its first layoffs ever, amid a brutal price war in the slowing-PC industry, the Journal reported. Cost cutting usually boosts stocks, but not Friday. Dell fell 10%.
Not all the news was bad, though it was a bit more underpublicized. For instance, Network Appliance (NTAP), a player in the data-storage field, reported profits of 11 cents a share, beating estimates by a penny. The shares gained 8%.
Bond prices rose Friday pulling down yields. The 10-year note yielded 5.02% compared with 5.09% late Thursday. The 30-year bond was at 5.39% compared with 5.53% Thursday.
Adding to the pessimism: trouble-prone telecom-equipment maker Lucent Technologies is being investigated by the feds for possible accounting fraud relating to $679 million in revenue last year, The Wall Street Journal reported. The company has already taken the money off its books, but hasn't said anything about fraud. Its stock tanked another 9% Friday.
And Dell Computer, which last month warned of missed profit expectations, is now about to announce its first layoffs ever, amid a brutal price war in the slowing-PC industry, the Journal reported. Cost cutting usually boosts stocks, but not Friday. Dell fell 10%.
Not all the news was bad, though it was a bit more underpublicized. For instance, Network Appliance (NTAP), a player in the data-storage field, reported profits of 11 cents a share, beating estimates by a penny. The shares gained 8%.
Bond prices rose Friday pulling down yields. The 10-year note yielded 5.02% compared with 5.09% late Thursday. The 30-year bond was at 5.39% compared with 5.53% Thursday.
