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tdp2664 InvestorPlace Friday was a fitting capstone to a week where headlines were dominated by a swath of disappointing quarterly earnings reports, most marked with gloomy forecasts of things to come. Research In Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM ) continued its seemingly year-long descent down the sadness spiral after the bell Thursday with an anticipated poor third-quarter report , unexpectedly low guidance for the fourth quarter and a final bomb: the announcement that the release of its BlackBerry 10 phones would be pushed back to the end of 2012. RIMM shares plummeted 11% on Friday to $13.44 — the stock's lowest finish of the year and down 75% from the start of 2011. Third-quarter earnings of $1.27 per share were seven cents better than expected by Wall Street analysts, but the $265 million total still was down 71% from the same period a year ago. Revenues of $5.2 million also slightly missed expectations. RIM's fourth-quarter revenue guidance was set around $4.6 billion to $4.9 billion, while Wall Street expects $5.2 billion. The real kicker, however, was that announcement about BlackBerry 10 phones being delayed. Co-CEO Mike Lazaridis said the company had to push back the launch because it’s still waiting for LTE-capable chipsets. Investors took the news poorly because it means RIM must continue to languish with its lackluster BlackBerry 7 OS. Earlier in the week, other major players saw bad things in their crystal balls. Intel (NASDAQ: INTC ) lowered its fourth-quarter revenue estimate from $14.7 billion to $13.7 billion on Monday, with the company citing disruptions from massive flooding in Thailand, which has rocked numerous sectors , including hard-drive makers. Best Buy (NYSE: BBY ) was hammered on Tuesday after saying it expected profit margins to fall by about 0.5% across 2012, in addition to announcing 13% drop in fiscal Q3 profit. And First Solar (NASDAQ: FSLR ) started a solar-sector avalanche after lowering fiscal year guidance for the third time in 2011. Here were some of the other big financial headlines of the week: Gold Breaks 200-Day Moving Average Gold has been one of 2012's biggest winners, but this week the yellow metal found itself dragging against a relative bottom. Gold prices cracked the $1,600 point Wednesday, and more important, breached its pivotal 200-day moving average for the first time in almost three years. The major investment trusts took one on the chin this week, with the SPDR Gold Trust (NYSE: GLD ) and iShares Gold Trust (NYSE: IAU ) shedding almost 7% in the past five days. The biggest question on the minds of many investors is "Where will gold go next?" While fundamentals actually point to a continued downtrend into the $1,400s, many predict that a continued lack of confidence in financials and the European recovery will produce a rebound sooner than later. Big Moves in Big Pharma Pfizer (NYSE: PFE ) made a pair of announcements earlier this week specifically designed to enrich its shareholders . The company expanded its share repurchase program by $10 billion — with plans to buy back about $5 billion worth in 2012 — and also announced a 10% boost to its quarterly dividend. Pfizer now will pay out 22 cents per share for a supple 4% dividend yield. On Thursday, health care device and supply company Covidien (NYSE: COV ) announced it would spin off its pharmaceuticals business — this comes off the heels of Abbott Laboratories ' (NYSE: ABT ) similar move in October. Not only was the announcement well-received by COV investors, who carried shares up 3.5% Thursday, but also for shareholders in Sanofi (NYSE: SNY ), GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK ) and Novartis (NYSE: NVS ) — all of which could be breakup candidates. Three Up for Friday Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: VRTX ): Up 7.89% ($2.48) to $33.91. Adobe (NASDAQ: ADBE ): Up 6.58% ($1.74) to $28.20. Discover Financial Services (NYSE: DFS ): Up 4.85% ($1.12) to $24.19. Three Down for Friday Sears Holdings (NASDAQ: SHLD ): Down 8.18% ($4.12) to $46.25. Nokia (NYSE: NOK ): Down 3.91% (19 cents) to $4.67. Accenture (NYSE: ACN ): Down 3.35% ($1.88) to $54.25. As of this writing, Kyle Woodley did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned stocks. Check out our list of previous IP Market Recaps .
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