Intel rebounds despite cut in growth forecast Shaky economies in Europe and the US and consumers" growing appetite for Apple's iPad have been taking a toll on the personal computer industry. Stacy Smith, chief financial officer, said consumer spending in Europe and the US has proved worse than predicted. "At the beginning of the year we would have expected, along with most economists, that economic growth would start picking up and that would lead to an increase in consumer sales," he said. Those expectations are now more muted. Intel supplies processors for 80pc of PCs but it has yet to make significant progress in tablets or smartphones, products that use chips based on technology from UK-based ARM Holdings. While the tablet market is still small, demand for the devices is growing faster than for personal computers, with sales of tablets including Apple's iPad expected to grow 90pc this year, according to IHS iSuppli. Acer, the third-largest computer maker, has had its credit rating cut to "junk" status by Fitch after the company more than halved its growth forecast last week.