Finnish phone manufacturers Nokia have released an update on its end-of-year sales predictions, and it doesn’t look to good. The handset giant has said it will be taking 20 million handsets off its fourth quarter forecast, and that it will be dropping all of its costly external contractors.

The company’s announcement comes before the company’s next big meeting in early December, where more details will be given, but the company is still expecting to sell 330 million units in the last quarter of the year, so its actually not that bad.

Well, according to Nokia, it’s bad. They reckon they’ll only sell 20 million more handsets than the previous quarter, but as its Xmas, the company was hoping for more. Nokia were hoping to sell 350 million handsets over the winter, but the cuts will drop their total for year to 1.24 billion.

The company will cut even more cost at its December 4 meeting, namely in its outsourcing capacity. Nokia plans to cut down on its use of external contractors, consultants and any other professional services it uses, along with hacking down its overall operating expenses. The company is not, it would seem, halting the buying up of smaller companies with big ideas, as part of the next-gen mobile movement.

At the moment that’s all I’ve got, there will be an update on December 4.

In other news, Carphone Warehouse is rumoured to be dropping internet service provider and phone company TalkTalk. The company will post early financial results later today, but the issue of a separation of the two businesses has already come up.

TalkTalk is reported to account for £1 billion of the Carphone Warehouses £1.3 billion portfolio. The group’s chief executive Charles Dunstone is hoping to maintain a stake in both companies if an amicable separation goes ahead, according to a source who spoke to the Sunday Times.

The move is likely to make shareholders happy, as two separate companies would be worth more to shareholders than they are at present, and the long talked about expansion plan of Carphone Warehouse – the merger with supermarket chain Best Buy – could get the green light.

There are already other large corporations looking in to the possibility of purchasing TalkTalk if the split goes ahead, with Vodafone, Sky and O2 looking likely to spark a bidding war. However, with the economy in a mess, getting a sale might not be that easy.