Nokia in the hot seat

In the technology sectors in particular, a veritable cottage industry of speculation has sprung up to satiate the desires of investors looking for signs that the market may be turning around. Recently, a lot of pontification has surrounded Nokia (NOK), sparked by two European investment banks questioning whether the mobile-phone maker will be able to meet expectations for the current quarter. So far, Nokia has done respectably despite the overall downturn in the telecom sector. The company has managed to maintain about a 35 percent stake in the worldwide mobile phone market and beat profit expectations for its second quarter, ended June 30. But Nokia's second-quarter revenue came in lower than expected -- at $6.3 billion, instead of the $6.5 billion that analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial/First Call were expecting. And the company's stock price has been falling; it reached a 52-week low of $16.74 on Monday. Since Aug. 2, Nokia's shares have lost 25 percent of their value. Though some are speculating Nokia's current, third-quarter revenue and earnings may come in below the company's previous guidance, others say it is simply too tricky to predict if the company will issue any kind of revised outlook, either negative or positive, before its current quarter ends on Sept. 30.