Intel's last hurrah?

Intel Corp. (INTC) sees reason for optimism in the quarter ahead even as storm clouds loom on the horizon.

Speaking today at a company event, Chief Executive Paul Otellini said that the second quarter was shaping up to be better than expected. Shares of the world's largest chip company rose in after-hours trading. They had gained about four percent so far this year.

Wall Street was worried that the chipmaker's results might be hurt by a slowdown in sales of computers along with the soaring popularity of the low-cost machines known as netbooks. But the company has proven to be more resilient than analysts had expected.