From Breifing.com (maybe this will explain some of today's slight downturn:
11:10 ET ******
NOKIA CORP. (NOK/A) 142 7/16 -2 1/8. Wireless phone company has come under some selling pressure today on fears that China may be forced to devalue the yuan. While a devaluation is not certain, with many Chinese business suffering and unable to pay their debt, China may be force to re-stimulate its economy by lowering its currency and becoming more competitive with its Asian neighbors. To be sure, Chinese officials have gotten a boost of confidence from how well investors reacted to the devaluation of the Brazilian real two weeks ago. In addition, officials are quoted in a state-run newspaper that the devaluation of the yuan would not be a bad thing for the country in the long run. Hence, indications are that the Chinese government is looking for a way to revive its economy, which means that Nokia's fast growing market could be hurt by government actions. In the past year, Nokia has been generating about 25% of its total sales from the Asia/Pacific region and since the collapse of many Asian economies, has been leaning more heavily on the rapid growth in China. However, this could all come to an end should China devalue, taking away a prime growth engine from Nokia while the rest of the region has encounter its share of problems . While the timing of any devaluation is likely to be at least one to two quarters away, it seems that there is a good likelihood that China will follow its neighbors. A possible saving grace to this situation could be that a devaluation may not come until after the rest of Asia has begun to recover. If so, the impact on Nokia may not be as bad, assuming China's neighbors can recover before then. Of course, a devaluation by China would put pressure on its neighbors to do the same, creating another negative cycle that could prevent the region from getting back of its feet again. Thus, the outlook has grown a bit more cautious around this stock, although the company is scheduled to report Q4 earnings later this week that should meet or exceed expectations, allowing Nokia to showcase its depth and breadth of products. According to First Call, Nokia is projected to have earned $1.04 vs year-ago profit of $0.66 a share.
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