Hewlett-Packard has cut orders to supply chain partners mainly in desktop PCs but also to a lesser degree in laptops Although a report indicates the world’s largest PC vendor may be cutting back on some orders to PC manufacturers for the third and fourth quarters of this year, an executive at the company said the problem isn’t in laptop PCs.A report published last week by Goldman Sachs Group said Hewlett-Packard cut orders to supply chain partners “mainly in desktop PCs and to a lesser degree on the notebook side,” adding that the downward revision was “mainly from the U.S. with some from selected emerging markets, but so far no impact from Europe.”The investment banking firm offered several reasons for the order pullback, including possible over-ordering, concerns of a potential end-demand slowdown attributed to the subprime problem in the U.S. and efforts to manage inventories ahead of the holidays. But a senior HP executive said it’s business as usual in the company’s laptop PC division.“There really has not been a slowdown in our order rate,” said Ted Clark, senior vice president and general manager of HP’s mobile computing global business unit.He said he could not comment on desktop PCs because that’s not his area of expertise at the company. The PC industry has marked a stellar year this year with record shipments of laptop PCs in particular. But analysts and market researchers have grown more worried in recent weeks that the weakening housing market in the U.S. and woes caused by risky home loans, called subprime loans, may cause consumers to slow their spending on new gadgets and computers.Most analysts say only time will tell whether the housing issues have spilled over into consumer spending. The Goldman Sachs report is an attempt to gauge how consumer spending is affecting orders to PC manufacturers. Technology Industry