SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Oracle Corp blamed its rapidly expanding sales force for a severe miss in third-quarter software sales and warned that its ailing hardware business will lose more ground this quarter, driving its shares 8 percent lower on Wednesday.

The world’s No. 3 software maker projected a 1 to 11 percent rise in new software licenses and Internet-based subscriptions in the May quarter – an indicator of future performance. But investors focused on a 2 percent slip in the February quarter that badly missed Wall Street’s targets.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Oracle Corp blamed its rapidly expanding salesforce for a severe miss in third-quarter software sales and warned that its ailing hardware business will lose more ground this quarter, driving its shares 8 percent lower on Wednesday.

The world’s No. 3 software maker projected a 1 to 11 percent rise in new software licenses and Internet-based subscriptions in the May quarter – an indicator of future performance. But investors focused on a 2 percent slip in the February quarter that badly missed Wall Street’s targets.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Oracle Corp (ORCL.O: Quote, Profile, Research) forecast a return to growth in new software sales this quarter, after blaming its rapidly expanding salesforce for a severe miss in third-quarter revenue that drove its shares 8 percent lower on Wednesday.

The world’s No. 3 software maker projected a 1 to 11 percent rise in new software licenses and Internet-based subscriptions in the May quarter, following a 2 percent slip in the February quarter that badly missed Wall Street’s targets.

SAN FRANCISCO, March 20 (Reuters) – Oracle Corp’s
revenue missed expectations in the February quarter, adding to
concerns on Wall Street about sluggish enterprise IT spending
and sending shares of the world’s No. 3 software maker sharply
lower.

Oracle posted a 2 percent drop in new software sales and
Internet-based software subscriptions to $2.3 billion in its
fiscal third quarter.

SAN JOSE, California (Reuters) – Chipmaker Nvidia on Tuesday unveiled a server product that allows multiple individuals to virtually connect through low-end PCs to work on graphics-intensive tasks like image processing, Nvidia’s latest move to diversity as its traditional PC market loses ground to tablets.

Nvidia has been looking for new markets for its graphics chip expertise, including enterprise computing, mobile devices and hand-held game devices.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Intel Corp’s media group has been on a hiring spree as it prepares to launch an Internet television service later this year, underscoring the chip maker’s seriousness about the new business.

Intel Media is now looking to add 60 people to its staff of over 300, said spokesman Jon Carvill. He said the group could number 400 within the next six months or so, compared to less than 100 a year ago.

SAN FRANCISCO, March 18 (Reuters) – Global PC shipments,
already hit by consumers’ growing preferences for tablets and
smartphones, are falling more than previously predicted due to
weakness in China, according to market research firm IDC.

Slower February shipments in China caused by government
budget cuts and other factors mean worldwide PC shipments could
fall by a “double-digit” percentage in the first quarter,
compared with a previous estimated decline of 7.7 percent, IDC
said in a report on Monday.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Shipments of Apple Inc’s iPads will fall behind the growing variety of tablets running Google Inc’s Android platform for the first time this year as smaller-sized devices catch on with more consumers, research firm International Data Corp (IDC) said on Tuesday.

iPad shipments are expected to account for 46 percent of the market in 2013, down from 51 percent last year, IDC said. Devices running Android are expected to grow their market share to 49 percent this year from 42 percent last year.

SAN FRANCISCO/NEW YORK (Reuters) – Intel’s next CEO is likely to shepherd the top chipmaker into a growing contract-manufacturing business, a strategic shift that could lead to a deal with Apple and give it a fighting chance to make inroads in the mobile arena.

Manufacturing chips on behalf of other companies is a major departure for Intel, which for decades has based its business on using its manufacturing prowess to offer its own PC chips superior to rival products. As PC sales contract and Intel’s fabrication plants operate at less than full capacity, the chipmaker sees an opportunity to fill idle production lines while earning new revenue.

SAN FRANCISCO/NEW YORK (Reuters) – Intel’s next CEO is likely to shepherd the top chipmaker into a growing contract-manufacturing business, a strategic shift that could lead to a deal with Apple Inc and give it a fighting chance to make inroads in the mobile arena.

Manufacturing chips on behalf of other companies is a major departure for Intel, which for decades has based its business on using its manufacturing prowess to offer its own PC chips superior to rival products. As PC sales contract and Intel’s fabrication plants operate at less than full capacity, the chipmaker sees an opportunity to fill idle production lines while earning new revenue.