Dell results disappoint Street, shares dive

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Dell Inc forecast disappointing second-quarter revenue as U.S. and European corporate tech-spending weakens and consumer personal computer sales continue to shrink, hammering its shares. Shares in the company, which like rival Hewlett-Packard Co is losing market share to mobile devices such as Apple Inc's iPad, dived more than 9 percent in after hours trade. The world's No. 3 PC maker forecast a 2 to 4 percent revenue gain this fiscal quarter, to $14.7 billion to $15 billion, well short of the $15.4 billion Wall Street had been expecting. ...

Japan's Panasonic plans fridge factory in Europe

LONDON (Reuters) - Japanese electronics group Panasonic plans to open a European factory this year to make home appliances, a market it is targeting as sales of televisions stagnate, in a rare vote of confidence for manufacturing in the crisis-hit euro zone. Panasonic is looking to minimize the effect of a strong yen on its exports by bringing manufacturing closer to its customers, and also hopes to capitalize on any incentives that struggling euro zone governments may offer. Industrial production in the euro zone fell 0. ...

Vodafone takes $6.3 billion writedown on European weakness

LONDON (Reuters) - Mobile operator Vodafone wrote down the value of its assets by 4 billion pounds ($6.3 billion) and cut its medium-term sales target on Tuesday, as the debt crisis hit customers in southern Europe, forcing them to save money on phone calls. Vodafone, the largest telecom operator in the world, posted full-year results in line with forecasts and stood out from its peers by paying a record dividend as strength in emerging markets, Germany, Britain and Turkey offset a slump in spending in Spain and Italy. ...