Nokia Sees Down Yr For Handsets In ‘09; Cuts Q4 Industry View; Stk Swoons; Other Handset Shrs Also Fall

So it turns out, the mobile phone business isn’t immune to recession, either. Nokia (NOK) shares are headed sharply lower this morning after the company cut its Q4 industry guidance, and provided an alarming outlook for the global handset market for 2009. “In the last few weeks, the global economic slowdown, combined with unprecedented currency volatility, has resulted in a sharp pull back in global consumer spending,” the company said in a statement. “The weaker consumer spending has impacted many industries, including the global mobile device market. The mobile device market has also been negatively impacted by the more limited availability of credit, which has limited the purchasing ability of some of our trade customers.” For Q4, the company now sees industry mobile device volumes of 330 million, up from 310 million in Q3. That would lift total 2009 units to 1.24 million, up form 1.14 billion in 2007, but below its previous forecast of 1.26 billion. The ... (link)