New Guy
Ciena has named Gary Smith its new CEO. Smith, 40, was previously the telecom companys president and chief operating officer. In its latest earnings announcement, Ciena beat estimates, with revenue of $425 million and an operating profit of $19 million.
Intel Goes Macro
Intel this week is expected to start shipping its newest Xeon processor — designed for high-performance workstations and servers — to PC makers. Intel also will kick off a multimillion-dollar advertising campaign to promote its Xeon and Itanium server processor lines with the theme “Macroprocessing,” which the company said will be its biggest business marketing effort ever.
Palms Down
Handheld computer leader Palm said it expects a drastically lower revenue for the fourth quarter of its fiscal 2001. Palm is now anticipating $140 million to $160 million in revenue, compared with its previous estimates of $300 million to $315 million. It called off its acquisition of Extended Systems — a vendor of management software for mobile devices — that was announced in March.
Not Dead Yet
Mobile satellite voice services arent dead; they just smell funny. Thats the message Craig McCaw is trying to get through to the Federal Communications Commission. The communications magnate enlisted the help of several senators to sway the FCC to allow his satellite company, New ICO, to build a new system targeted at urban areas.
Bucking the Tide
Instinet, the original electronic stock trading network, has cashed in on the resurgent stock market by selling 32 million shares at $14.50, raising $464 million. The Reuters spin-off will repay $150 million to its parent, which bought the company in 1987 for about $100 million.
Whisperings
Alcatel and troubled Lucent Technologies are rumored to be in merger negotiations. Its all hush-hush, but Alcatel is reportedly willing to pay a premium of up to 20 percent on Lucent stock, which currently trades at about $10 per share. A deal could be announced by June.