Week ahead: Wireless hot shots

Following are some of the notable tech-related events scheduled for the week of March 16.

A parade of top tech executives, ranging from Motorola CEO Christopher Galvin to Nokia CEO Jorma Ollila, will descend on the CTIA Wireless 2003 conference this week. Michael Powell, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, is also expected to make a speaking appearance.

But not all the attention will be focused on the New Orleans wireless event. Several tech companies, such as Oracle, Palm and 3Com, will be reporting quarterly earnings next week.

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

Events scheduled this week:

	Tech Events

Monday, March 17

• Cut the wire. Wireless industry players, from network providers to manufacturers, will rub elbows with wireless users at the industry trade show CTIA Wireless 2003, March 17-19 in New Orleans.

Tuesday, March 18


• Take two. Microsoft will unveil new feature packs for its Systems Management Server 2003 during the second annual Microsoft Management Summit, March 18-21 in Las Vegas.

Wednesday, March 19


• Diskco Dancing. Trends in the dynamic disk drive industry and new areas of growth will be discussed during the Diskcon Asia-Pacific Conference, March 19-20 in Singapore.

Thursday, March 20


• Which direction? Industry players will discuss the new computing landscape--from macroeconomic issues affecting information technology to the new horizon for product development--at the Directions 2003 conference, March 20 in Boston.

Friday, March 21


• Compute this. As advanced computational methods and financial engineering intersect, new technologies and applications are being formed. This will be the topic at the 2003 International Conference on Computational Intelligence for Financial Engineering, March 21-23 in Hong Kong.

	Earnings

Monday, March 17


• Tech Data is a technology product distributor. The company is expected to report a fourth-quarter profit of 55 cents a share.

Tuesday, March 18

• Oracle develops database and applications software. The company is expected to report a third-quarter profit of 10 cents a share.

• Progress Software makes integration software. The company is expected to report a first-quarter profit of 8 cents a share.

Wednesday, March 19

• 3Com is a networking equipment maker. The company is expected to report a third-quarter loss of 6 cents a share.

Thursday, March 20

• Micron Technology makes memory chips. The company is expected to report a second-quarter loss of 44 cents a share.

• Palm makes handheld devices. The company is expected to report a third-quarter loss of 91 cents a share.

• Lawson Software makes business process software. The company is expected to report a third-quarter profit of 1 cent a share.

	Economic Reports

Tuesday, March 18

• Housing Starts is the total of new home construction projects. The February number is expected to fall to 1.78 million, from 1.85 million the previous month.

Thursday, March 20

• Leading Economic Indicators summarizes previously reported totals such as building permits and unemployment claims. It's expected to drop to a negative 0.4 percent for February, compared with a negative 0.1 percent the previous month.

Friday, March 21

• Consumer Price Index is one of most significant measures of inflation, monitoring the decline or fall of the price of a fixed basket of consumer goods and services. February growth is expected to rise to 0.5 percent, compared with 0.3 percent in the prior period.