BAD HARDWARE WEEK

Intel (INTC) Chief Executive Officer Paul Otellini has had a bumpy two and a half years at the helm of the chip giant. He has fought a pitched battle against rival Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), which last year picked up its first orders at Dell (DELL)—previously an Intel stronghold. He also faces an antitrust battle in Europe, where in the worst case, the penalty could top $3 billion. A former marketing executive, Otellini is the first nonengineer to head the chip giant. (He has a bachelor's degree in economics, and an MBA from Berkeley.) Despite widening margins and 15% revenue growth in the third quarter, Intel's stock price is hovering at the same level as in May, 2005, when Otellini took the reins at Santa Clara headquarters from current company chairman, Craig Barrett.

Intel seems blames EU for sluggish profit margins? :

"Their basic argument is that we sold under cost." That argument, Otellini says, "is flawed. I think if that's the central part of their argument, we'll fare fine." He adds that he finds statements by EC Competition Commissioner Neeley Kroes about Europe's role in regulating "dominant" companies "very troubling. If they take that position with us, or Qualcomm (QCOM), or Microsoft (MSFT), which are all American, I might note, you wonder where they're going long-term.… They could redefine what 'success' means." Otellini says that if the Europeans do not broaden their case against Intel, "the worst case is to write a check."