economy To faster change

Texas Instruments said its third-quarter earnings and revenue would be worse than already low expectations as concern about an economic slowdown is stifling demand for products that use its chips. Its shares extended Thursday's slide in pre-market trading Friday.
"Macroeconomic weakness is resulting in lower demand from consumers and enterprises," Ron Slaymaker, TI's head of investor relations, told analysts on a conference call.
He ruled out any inventory adjustments as a reason for slowing demand.
The executive noted that TI is cutting expenses such as variable compensation to stop profits from falling as quickly as sales. Because the shortfall is economy related, Slaymaker said he had no way of knowing when demand would improve.
"The only solace to take away from this is that it's not TI specific," said Williams Financial analyst Cody Acree who cited warnings about weak demand across the semiconductor industry.
It forecast revenue of $3.23 billion to $3.27 billion compared with its earlier target for $3.4 billion to $3.7 billion. The new forecasts missed Wall Street expectations for earnings of 59 cents per share on revenue of $3.5 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
"It's probably a bit lower than people were thinking," said MKM Partners analyst Daniel Berenbaum. "Demand is slow."
TI shares fell just 25 cents or just under 1 percent to $25.55 in extended trading after closing at $25.80 on the New York Stock Exchange. Its stock has already fallen about 18 percent since it reported its results in late July.