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Technology Stocks : IBM -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: manny t who wrote (6469)	6/23/2000 11:01:00 AM
From: Tony Viola	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 8218

Mannyt, >IBM has announced today that it has passed Sun Microsystems in midrange Unix server market segment share,significantly outpacing the year-to-year growth rate of Unix rival Sun,according to a report released by International Data Corporation (IDC). IBM's growth was fueled by the insertion of performance-enhancing copper microprocessors into its RS/6000 Unix server line. Would you consider taking that news to the Sun thread, where they think Sun walks on the water? Of course, they'd argue about the models/sizes of the machines in the comparison, that IBM is giving the machines away, wait for Ultrasparc III, blah blah blah. Funny there is no IBM - Sun rivalry on these threads like with Intel - AMD, or Cisco - LU, Nortel, anybody, etc. Tony

To: manny t who wrote (6469)	6/23/2000 11:05:00 AM
From: Arrow Hd.	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 8218

Their latest announcements has put IBM in a very strong position in the UNIX segment.

To: manny t who wrote (6469)	6/25/2000 11:33:00 AM
From: art slott	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 8218

I think IBM's stock will have a nice move in July as we get the Fed out of the way and get close to 2nd qtr earnings. Fed Seen Holding Rates Steady As U.S. Economy Slows -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- REUTERS INDEX \| INTERNATIONAL \| BUSINESS \| TECHNOLOGY -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Filed at 10:14 a.m. ET By Reuters NEW YORK (Reuters) - Although the Federal Reserve is not yet convinced the U.S. economy is slowing, central bankers will likely leave interest rates unchanged at their policy meeting this week while warning of inflation risks ahead. Wall Street economists expect policymakers to sit on their hands at the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday. But many think it is too soon for the Fed to declare victory in the battle against inflation. The Fed has already raised short-term rates six times over the past year but most leading Wall Street firms polled by Reuters last week predicted they will increase borrowing costs again in August. ``I think the Fed will wait and see if they've done enough,'' said David Wyss, chief economist at Standard & Poor's. ``There is a lot of tightening still in the pipeline.'' There is mounting evidence that credit tightening over the past 12 months has begun to take a toll on growth, particularly in interest-rate sensitive areas like housing and consumer spending on big-ticket items. But it will take more than just a few weeks of data to convince the Fed that the recent downturn is not an aberration. In fact, even a sharp dip in second-quarter gross domestic product growth might not be enough. Officials are mindful that in the past two years the second quarter has been far weaker than any other and well below full-year growth rates. They may want to see third-quarter numbers before they make up their minds. Inflation is on a faster track this year than last and is already pressing on the upper limits of the Fed's comfort zone. Many at the Fed would like to see the core Consumer Price Index, excluding volatile food and energy prices, running at 2.0 percent or lower. But in May, that rate was up 2.4 percent year-over-year. A resurgence in the price of oil this spring could make for some worsening inflation numbers for June and July and increase the odds of a rate hike at the August FOMC meeting. ``We are going to see some pretty ugly numbers in June and July on CPI because of oil,'' said Wyss. ``Gasoline prices went through the roof.'' A TRICKY SOFT LANDING The Fed is at a crucial juncture in its efforts to engineer a ``soft landing'', trying to keep the economy from overheating while not overshooting with an excess of credit tightening that could throw the country into recession. For the past few quarters, demand in the economy was running well ahead of supply and it was this imbalance that the Fed feared would fuel higher wages and prices. With such strong demand and unemployment around 30-year lows, pressures on the country's labor resources are evident. The strength of demand in the first quarter was a key reason the Fed decided on a more aggressive move at its last meeting on May 16 where it raised the key federal funds rate on overnight bank lending by half a percentage point to 6.50 percent. But lately, things have been moving in the general direction the Fed wants. Unemployment edged up in May and there are signs that robust consumer spending is starting to wane. The stock market has cooled, particularly the red-hot technology sector which had raised worries about speculation. But if stocks reignite on signs the Fed is nearly finished, that could actually keep up the pressure for further hikes. ``Clearly the Fed's tightening of monetary policy over the course of the past year has begun to have some effect,'' said Scott Pardee, a professor of monetary economics at Middlebury College in Vermont and a former Fed economist. ``So the question now for the Fed is have they done enough?'' Because the full impact of past rate hikes has not been felt yet, particularly the large move in May, Pardee said there is good reason for the Fed to pause at this month's meeting. Many look for the Fed to issue a statement saying the risks in the economy are still tilted toward higher inflation, hinting at another move in August. ``There is still a lot of strength and momentum in the economy,'' Pardee said. ``I think there is enough strength out there so the Fed will move once again during the course of this year, probably in August. We might have the Fed actually tightening at a time the economy is cooling because inflation continues to move up.'' Ask questions about Personal Finance, Entrepreneurs, and more. Get answers and tell other readers what you know, in Abuzz, new from The New York Times. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Home \| Site Index \| Site Search \| Forums \| Archives \| Marketplace .