March 19 (Bloomberg)
Revenue in the period ending in May will be less than $150 million, Chief Financial Officer Doug Jeffries said yesterday on Palm¡¯s third-quarter

conference call, compared with the $300 million average of estimates compiled by Bloomberg. The company also reported its 11th straight quarterly

loss.
¡°Palm¡¯s troubles will only accelerate as carriers and suppliers increasingly question the company¡¯s solvency and withdraw their support,¡± Peter Misek, a

Canaccord Adams analyst in Toronto, said today in a note in which he cut Palm¡¯s price forecast to $0. ¡°With what appears to be roughly 12 months

of cash on hand, an accelerating burn rate, a complete lack of earnings visibility, and substantial debt and preferred equity, we no longer see any

value in the company¡¯s common equity.¡±
Derick Mains, a spokesman for Sunnyvale, California-based Palm, declined to comment on the report.
Analysts at Kaufman Bros. and Morgan Joseph reduced their recommendations on Palm¡¯s stock to ¡°sell¡± from ¡°hold¡± and expressed doubts about the

company¡¯s future.
¡°We are unsure of Palm¡¯s prospects as an ongoing concern,¡± Kaufman Bros. analyst Shaw Wu in San Francisco said today in a note to clients. He

offered three scenarios for Palm¡¯s future, in which the company is sold, raises more capital or runs out of money.
¡®Cash Burn¡¯
¡°Everything depends on sell-through of products -- revenue, cash burn, how much they need to invest in order to drive sales,¡± Barclays Capital

analyst Amir Rozwadowski in New York said today in an interview. In a note he predicted that ¡°the company¡¯s cash burn will increasingly emerge as a

concern.¡±
Palm executives sought to remain upbeat on yesterday¡¯s conference call.
¡°Our recent underperformance has been extremely disappointing to me personally and the entire Palm team,¡± Chief Executive Officer Jon Rubinstein

said on the call. ¡°We¡¯re very realistic about our near-term challenges, but the issues we¡¯re facing are far from insurmountable.¡±
Palm started selling updated versions of its Pre and Pixi smartphones at Verizon Wireless in January, competing with Research In Motion Ltd.¡¯s

BlackBerry and Motorola Inc.¡¯s Droid, which runs on Google Inc.¡¯s Android software. In the quarter ended in January, Android¡¯s share of the U.S.

smartphone market more than doubled to 7.1 percent, while Palm¡¯s fell to 5.7 percent from 7.8 percent, according to researcher ComScore Inc.

 

 March 19  - Global shares slipped from 17-month highs on Friday as weakness in earnings and a rising dollar stunted long-running rallies, while

concerns over Greece's debt burden kept pressure on the euro.
Oil suffered its steepest drop in six weeks as the dollar firmed against the euro and other currencies. Cheaper crude oil weighed on energy shares in

the United States and Europe.
The euro posted its worst weekly performance against the dollar since late January as traders waited to see if Greece can secure aid from its fellow

euro zone members at a European Union summit next week. Greece has said that it might have to turn to the International Monetary Fund for help.
"The tensions surrounding Greece are escalating. This whole IMF situation has become a game of brinkmanship and the whole uncertainty is

undermining the euro," said Michael Woolfolk, senior currency strategist at BNY Mellon in New York.
In equities, an early boost to bank shares came as British lender Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY.L) said it would return to profit this year after two years

of heavy losses, helped by lower bad debts and tight cost controls. Shares of Lloyds jumped 8.2 percent in London, but European stocks closed

lower on a late-session selloff in resource-related sectors as commodities prices fell. For details see [ID:nLDE62I07H].
The MSCI world equity index .MIWD00000PUS fell 0.5 percent.
In U.S. equities, the Dow Jones industrial average .DJI fell 37.19 points, or 0.35 percent, to 10,741.98. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX

slipped 5.93 points, or 0.51 percent, to 1,159.90 and the Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC declined 16.87 points, or 0.71 percent, to 2,374.41.
Analysts warned of volatility due to "quadruple witching" -- the expiration of U.S. stock index futures, stock index options, stock options and stock

futures.
"Even with a one-year rally of almost historical proportions, investors remain in a very skeptical market," said Keith Springer, president of Capital

Financial Advisory Services in Sacramento, California.

-- Hamas officials say Israeli aircraft have fired five missiles at Gaza's defunct airport and nearby border tunnels, wounding at least 12 people.
The Israeli military confirmed Friday's airstrikes, saying they targeted militant activities in response to recent rocket fire from Gaza.
The missile strikes come a day after rocket fire from Gaza killed a Thai worker on an Israeli communal farm near the Gaza border. Israel has said it

holds Gaza's Hamas rulers responsible even though Hamas opponents said they fired the rocket.
Friday's missiles hit the defunct international airport in southern Gaza and tunnels dug by militants near the border with Israel. On Thursday, Israeli

missiles hit smuggling tunnels and a metal workshop in Gaza.

The German finance ministry had as recently as last week raised objections to an IMF program for Greece.
On Thursday, a senior German official said Chancellor Angela Merkel is "open to a financial participation by the IMF" in any aid package for Greece, while stressing that no final decision had been made. The official added that Greece hasn't asked for a rescue and that Germany still wants Greece to solve its debt crisis on its own through budget cuts.
Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou said in Brussels on Thursday that he wants guarantees of financial support to come out of a European Union summit in Brussels set for next Thursday and Friday.
Euro-zone countries have so far made vague pledges to help Greece if it can't borrow enough funds from bond markets. European officials say privately that a decision on Greek aid may not be reached at the summit, despite Greek pressure.
Germany's shifting stance sets the stage for a potential confrontation with other European countries at next week's meeting. The comments come amid an increasingly contentious debate between Germany and its EU partners over how and when any rescue of Greece should happen.
It is widely feared that having a member turn to the IMF for financial assistance would be seen as a sign of weakness for the common currency. French President Nicolas Sarkozy, European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet and others have argued the 16-member euro zone should manage the Greek debt troubles internally.
"It is as if California were in terrible shape and you were to call the IMF to rescue California. That's a bit odd within the same monetary zone," French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde said in a recent interview with The Wall Street Journal.
More on Greece
Merkel Floats Option of Euro-Zone Expulsion Greek Unemployment Hits Eight-Year High Real Time Brussels: Is There a Greece Bailout? WSJ.com/GreekDebt: Analysis, graphics Ms. Merkel has long believed that any European aid for Greece would be easier to sell to German voters and lawmakers if it were part of an IMF-led package, according to people familiar with her thinking. However, the chancellor isn't pushing an IMF-only solution, these people say.
Until now, she has deferred to the majority of European leaders who oppose an IMF role that goes beyond technical advice. But her deference to euro-zone sensibilities is fading as chances grow that Greece will need help, a person familiar with the matter says.
German public opinion is overwhelmingly opposed to risking taxpayers' money to save Greece from default. Ms. Merkel's center-right coalition faces a crucial regional election in May that threatens to cost the government its majority in Germany's upper house of parliament
Bilateral European loans for Greece might be more palatable if they were part of an IMF program, similar to a model that was used to bail out non-euro countries Hungary and Latvia in 2008, German officials say.
A joint IMF-European package could also help the German government survive a potential supreme-court challenge by German opponents of bailing out Greece, say people familiar with the chancellor's thinking.
Mr. Papandreou's comments on Thursday are the closest yet to a Greek demand for earlier action, and show Athens' growing anger at Europe's reluctance to offer more than verbal support.It may be difficult for Greece to secure IMF funds without the endorsement of major European governments who sit on the IMF's board and would rule on aid.
Greece hasn't approached the IMF for financing, but the fund remains ready to help if needed, an IMF spokeswoman said on Thursday. She reiterated that the IMF still expects European countries to try to resolve Greece's ongoing debt problems.
Mr. Papandreou, whose government is imposing unpopular austerity measures at home as it tries to refinance its heavy debts, suggested in Brussels on Thursday that the EU should put an offer of money on the table. Greece wouldn't even have to use the EU financing in that case, he implied: The offer alone would allow Greece to borrow from bond markets at less-punitive interest rates.
"When you have that instrument in place, that could be enough to tell the markets: 'Hands off, no speculation. Let this country do what it is doing,' " Mr. Papandreou said.
He expressed frustration that Greece's stiff austerity policies, including public-sector pay cuts and tax increases, are generating savings that go "to the interest of those that are loaning to you."
Greece now has to borrow funds at around 6.5% interest to attract investors, imposing costs that Greek officials say could scupper their attempts to bring down the budget deficit.
Germany's hints at a solution involving the IMF suggest Ms. Merkel is pulling rank over her finance minister, Wolfgang Sch?uble, who said earlier this month that "help from the IMF would in my view be an admission that the euro countries can't solve their problems through their own efforts."
Mr. Sch?uble and Ms. Merkel have both expressed support for setting up a European Monetary Fund to solve future debt crises in the euro zone, while Ms. Merkel suggested this week that countries might be kicked out of the euro if they persistently broke the bloc's debt rules.
However, those ideas would require changing European treaties, and German officials say they are intended for the longer term, not for the present Greek turmoil.

 

The Advocate reports that Choi, along with former Army infantryman Jim Pietrangelo, was arrested after chaining themselves to the fence following a rally in Washington for repeal of the policy, which bans gay men and women from serving openly in the military.
Choi, who announced his sexuality on national television, has not formally been discharged under the policy, though his discharge is reportedly pending. Pietrangelo has been formally discharged.
"You have been told that the President has a plan," Choi said at the rally, according to his prepared remarks. "But Congressman Barney Frank confirmed to us this week that the President still is not fully committed to repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell this year. And if we don't seize this moment it may not happen for a very long time."
Gay rights groups have criticized the Obama administration for not moving quickly enough on gay rights issues, including repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." The military is now in the middle of a review on the impact of repeal, which is set to end by December 1st. Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has said that repealing the policy is the "right thing to do." Gen. David Petraeus said earlier this week that the time had come to consider ending the policy.
The Senate Armed Services Committee held a hearing Thursday on repeal. Witnesses included Marine General John Sheehan and two officers who were discharged because of their sexual orientation.
According to reports, Choi crashed the rally, hosted by the gay rights group the Human Rights Campaign and comedian Kathy Griffin, and asked attendees to join him in a march to the White House, turning the event into more of a protest.
Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese did not march to the White House, in an illustration of the split in the gay rights movement between establishment organizations like the HRC, which generally support the Obama administration, and activists like Choi, who are pushing more aggressively for action.

Tom Coburn, R-Okla., warned Thursday that he and the staff of several other GOP senators will be monitoring with a microscope any potential payoffs to Democrats that materialize down the road in exchange for their vote on the health bill.
"If you think you can cut a deal now and it not come out until after the election, I want to tell you that isn't going to happen," Coburn said at a news conference. "And be prepared to defend selling your vote in the House."
Republicans are playing hardball after several "sweetheart" deals emerged in the Senate-passed health care bill, including the so-called "Cornhusker kickback" -- which would spare Nebraska certain Medicaid costs.
That provision was stripped in a package of changes introduced Thursday, but Coburn suggested Democrats might try to avoid the appearance of a quid pro quo -- giving something in return for votes -- by arranging for juicy payoffs down the road, like a federal appointment or local project.
As Democratic leaders try to win over just a few more hold-outs to reach the 216 votes needed to pass the Senate-approved bill in the House, the feisty Oklahoma Republican said he'll have his eye out for exactly that kind of deal.
"If you voted no and you vote yes, and you lose your election, and you think (your nomination) to a federal position isn't going to be held in the Senate, I've got news for you -- it's going to be held," Coburn said.
"No. 2 is, if you get a deal, a parochial deal for you or your district, I've already instructed my staff and the staff of seven other senators. We will look at every appropriations bill at every level, at every instance, and we will outline by district, and we will associate that with the buying of your vote."
A senior Senate GOP aide told Fox News that his staff found what he says is a sweetheart deal for Tennessee, aimed at Rep. Bart Gordon, D-Tenn., who just flipped to a "yes" vote.Republicans have a message for Democrats considering switching to "yes" on health care reform: We'll be watching you.