Palm Affected By Credit Crunch; Revises Q3 Earnings

Palm (NSDQ: PALM) revised earnings today, saying it lost more in Q3 than it initially thought because of the recent credit crunch, AP reports. The company reported a new loss of $57 million, or 53 cents a share, in the three months ended in Feb. 28, rather than the $31.5 million loss it reported last month. Both figures pale in comparison to the $11.8 million the company earned in the same period a year ago. AP said the company was forced to write down its auction-rate securities by $25 million after the collapse of the debt market in February (Auction-rate securities can have terms of up to 30 years, but the interest paid on them is reset periodically). Palm is among good company with a long list of companies, cities and student loan organizations that have been affected by the poor debt market. The company’s stock fell 22 cents today to close at $5.52 a share.