From the Ouch dept.:
Wall Street expected Sun Microsystems Inc.'s global sales base to help it weather the U.S. economic slowdown and turn a profit in the first three months of the year.

Instead, the Santa Clara-based server and software maker stunned investors Thursday by reporting a loss in its third quarter, caused in part by sagging sales to U.S. consumer-oriented companies that are putting off big-ticket spending for better times.