The week ahead: Warnings galore?

Following are some of the notable tech-related events scheduled for the week of June 24 through June 28.

Investors will become highly attuned to earnings news this week as the second quarter approaches the final stretch.

Companies are expected to warn Wall Street of any earnings shortfall as they begin to close up their books on the current quarter, which finishes at the end of June.

Apple Computer and chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices already warned last week that earnings and revenue will be lower than previous expectations, and database software maker Oracle reported a lackluster fiscal quarter ending May 31, all of which might mean rough news from other companies.

The Federal Open Market Committee also will conclude its two-day meeting Wednesday. This policy arm of the Fed, chaired by Alan Greenspan, is responsible for setting interest rates, which influence the direction of the stock market and the U.S. economy. Most Wall Street watchers expect the Fed to make no changes.

Technology fanatics who want to escape the potentially turbulent week can take refuge at TechXNY in New York. The event is one of the major computer industry conferences of the year, where attendees can freshen up on topics that include PCs, networking, security and Web services.

The information was gathered from First Call, Hoover's Online, CCBN's StreetEvents, MSN's Moneycentral and CNET Investor.

Other events scheduled this week:

	Tech Events

Sunday, June 23

• The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers will host Infocom 2002 at the Hilton New York, June 23-27. The conference will focus on issues that face the communications and networking technology industries.

Monday, June 24

• Software developers and IT managers interested in making the promise of Web services more tangible will congregate at Web Services Edge East, which is being held at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York, June 24-27. Representatives from Macromedia, IBM, BEA Systems, Sybase, Sun Microsystems and other companies will make keynote presentations.

• The Computer & Communications Industry Association, a tech trade group, will host its Washington Caucus at the Willard Inter-Continental Washington Hotel in Washington, D.C., June 24-25. The event gives representatives of CCIA's member companies the chance to interact with members of Congress and government regulators about issues such as broadband regulation, privacy, antitrust, Internet content and intellectual property. Representatives from the Federal Communications Commission, the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Commerce will speak.

• Airport officials, technology executives, security consultants and law enforcement representatives will gather at the Aviation Security Summit at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Washington, June 24-25. The conference will discuss technologies, including biometrics, that airlines, airports and government agencies can use to ensure airport security. The event also will feature case studies of airports in Israel, London, Chicago, San Francisco and other cities.

• Those who lead double lives as surfers and network security managers might want to jump on the next plane for the Computer Security Incident Handling Conference at the Hilton Waikoloa Village, Hawaii, June 24-28. The event will focus on how IT professionals can prevent, respond to and handle computer security incidents such as network break-ins.

• E-Gov 2002 will take place at the Washington Convention Center in D.C., June 24-27. The conference is tailored to government officials and businesspeople who want to learn how technology is being implemented in government administration. Keynote speakers will include Siebel Systems CEO Tom Siebel, Hewlett-Packard President Michael Capellas and former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani.

• The Wireless Communications Association International, a trade group for wireless telecom carriers, will host WCA 2002 at the World Trade Center in Boston, June 24-27.

Tuesday, June 25

• TechXNY 2002 will take place at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York, June 25-27. This large IT conference offers product exhibitions and educational sessions related to topics including PCs, networking, security and Web services. Keynote speakers will include representatives from Microsoft, IBM, Research In Motion and PalmSource.

• UBS Warburg, Advertising Age and CMR/Taylor Nelson Sofres will host AdWatch at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York. The event is for buyers, sellers, agents and investors in the advertising industry who want to learn about the major issues facing the sector, namely consolidation and integrated marketing. Panelists will include representatives from AOL Time Warner, The New York Times, MTV Networks and Procter & Gamble. Keynote speakers will include Lou Dobbs, the anchor/managing editor of CNN's "Moneyline."

• The 1394 Trade Association will host a developers' conference on the IEEE 1394 networking technology standard at the Microsoft Conference Center in Redmond, Wash., June 25-27. The standard, also known as FireWire to Apple Computer users, helps transfer data between PCs, computer peripherals and add-ons such as digital cameras, camcorders and MP3 players.

• Engineers, software developers and analysts in the communications chip industry will crowd the Network Processors Conference East at the Sheraton Hotel in Framingham, Mass., June 25-27. Featured speakers will include Laurence Walker, the vice president and general manager of the Networking and Computing Systems Group at Motorola.

• Chip start-ups on the prowl for funding might want to check out the Semiconductor Fundraising Forum in San Francisco, which will link entrepreneurs with investors looking for opportunities in the chip industry. The event is sponsored by PricewaterhouseCoopers, Silicon Valley Law Group, Propel Partners and Silicon Valley Bank, and will kick off at PwC's offices at 199 Fremont Street at 9 a.m. PDT. For more information, call Nicola Foreman at (650) 838-9500.

• Microsoft and Intel will conduct a course on Microsoft's .Net business software at the Marriott Marquis in New York, June 25-26.

Wednesday, June 26

Analysts who invest the assets of wealthy individuals will huddle up to share strategies and figure out what to do during this season of disappointing financial returns during the Private Equity Analyst Limited Partners Summit, which will take place at the Park Plaza Hotel in New York, June 26-27.

Thursday, June 27

• ICANN, the nonprofit group that oversees the Internet domain name registering system, will vote on VeriSign's wait-list proposal at its gathering in Bucharest, Romania. The vote will determine if VeriSign, which operates the registry for some domains, can award expiring Web addresses in the popular .com and .net domains to registrants who pay to be on a waiting list.

• BEA Systems, which makes e-commerce software for businesses, will hold its European analysts' day in London.

	Earnings

Tuesday, June 25

• Palm makes handhelds. Per-share consensus estimate for the fourth fiscal quarter: loss of 3 cents.

• 3Com makes networking equipment. Per-share consensus estimate for the fourth fiscal quarter: loss of 2 cents.

• Micron Technology is a manufacturer of chips for PCs. Per-share consensus estimate for the third fiscal quarter: profit of 7cents.

Thursday, June 27

• Liberate Technologies develops Internet access software for cable set-top boxes, mobile phones and handheld computers. Per-share consensus estimate for the fourth fiscal quarter: loss of 6 cents.

	Economic Reports

Tuesday, June 25

• Consumer confidence will be reported by the Conference Board for the month of June. This figure, measured by an index, represents consumer sentiment toward the economy. Analysts expect the index to slip to 109.6 from 109.8 in May.

• The National Association of Realtors reports existing home sales, which represents the number of previously built homes sold nationwide. The data indicate the strength of demand in housing and in the overall economy on the premise that the economy heats up as more consumers buy homes, cars and other high-ticket items. Economists expect May sales to fall to an annual rate of 5.63 million from 5.79 million in April.

Wednesday, June 26

• The Federal Open Market Committee, the policy-setting arm of the Federal Reserve, will end its two-day meeting on interest rates. The general consensus on Wall Street is that interest rates will not be changed.

• Durable goods orders represents the percentage increase or decrease of big-ticket items purchased, such as washing machines and refrigerators, as reported monthly by the Commerce Department. Economists use the number to measure demand in the economy. Analysts expect orders to rise 0.5 percent in May, down from April's increase of 0.8 percent.

• The Commerce Department will release new home sales figures for May, which represents the number of new homes sold in the United States and serves as another measure of demand in the economy. No estimates were available, but the government previously reported that new home sales rose to an annual rate of 915,000 in April from a revised 906,000 in March.

Thursday, June 27

• Initial claims refers to the number of people who filed for unemployment benefits each week as reported by the Department of Labor. Claims will be reported for the week ended June 22.

• The Commerce Department will report final gross domestic product numbers for the first quarter of 2002. GDP represents the value of U.S. goods and services produced within a certain time frame and is a measure of the nation's overall economic health. The government reported last month in a preliminary release that first-quarter GDP rose 5.6 percent. In the fourth quarter, GDP rose 1.7 percent.

• The help-wanted index is a monthly survey by the Conference Board of the volume of help-wanted advertising in major national newspapers. Wall Street uses the index to measure trends in job growth. No estimates were available for May, but the index rose to 47 in April from 46 in March and stood at 65 during April 2001.

Friday, June 28

• Personal income shows the monthly percentage change in household income from the Commerce Department. Economists expect income to rise 0.3 percent for May, the same increase as April.

• The Commerce Department will also release data on personal consumption expenditures, or PCE, which measures purchases of goods and services. Analysts expect personal spending to stay unchanged in May versus a 0.5 percent rise in the previous month.

• The Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index is a measure of consumer confidence as reported monthly by the University of Michigan. In a release earlier this month, the preliminary June index dropped to 90.8 from 96.9 in May.