Hewlett-Packard Co. replaced chief executive Leo Apotheker with Meg Whitman, asking the former head of an e-commerce company to turn around a computer maker plagued by missteps.

Apotheker, CEO for less than 11 months, was ousted after cutting sales forecasts three times and making strategy shifts that blindsided investors. Palo Alto, Calif.-based Hewlett-Packard also said Chairman Ray Lane will become executive chairman.

Whitman's challenge will be boosting revenue while assuaging investors, whose dismay fueled a 47 percent plunge in Hewlett-Packard stock under Apotheker. Her experience at consumer-oriented companies such as eBay Inc., Procter & Gamble Co. and Hasbro Inc. may leave her ill-equipped to run Hewlett-Packard's business-computing divisions, said Shaw Wu, an analyst at Sterne, Agee & Leach Inc. in San Francisco.

"She doesn't have the background to turn around HP," said Wu, who has a "neutral" rating on the shares.

Former Wachovia chief executive Ken Thompson serves on Hewlett-Packard's board. Bloomberg News

N.C. billionaires slip on list

Businessman C.D. "Dick" Spangler of Charlotte fell to No. 273 in the latest iteration of Forbes magazine's list of the 400 richest Americans, with a fortune estimated at $1.6 billion. His previous ranking was No. 238, with a fortune of $1.7 billion.

Jim Goodnight, CEO and co-founder of Cary business software firm SAS, slipped three spots to No. 38. Goodnight, 68, by far the richest person in North Carolina, saw his ranking slip from No. 35 even though his net worth rose from $6.9 billion in March to $7.1 billion in the latest list.

Goodnight's net worth was estimated at $8.7 billion in fall 2008 but fell in the wake of the recession.

The other North Carolinian on the list, SAS co-founder John Sall, saw his ranking slip one spot, to No. 91. His fortune also rose, from $3.4 billion in March to $3.5 billion. (Raleigh) News & Observer

Fixed mortgages stay low

Fixed mortgage rates hovered at record lows for a third straight week. They are likely to fall even further now that the Federal Reserve said it would shuffle its holdings to drive down long-term interest rates.

The average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage was unchanged at 4.09 percent this week, Freddie Mac said. That's the lowest since 1951.

Low mortgage rates have done little to boost home sales. This year is shaping up to be the worst for sales of previously occupied homes since 1997. Associated Press