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Politics : Stockman Scott's Political Debate Porch -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: pbull who wrote (8189)	10/17/2002 2:10:55 AM
From: surfbaron	Respond to of 89467

pbull: good points. bailouts sanction poor judgement.

To: pbull who wrote (8189)	10/17/2002 7:23:57 AM
From: stockman_scott	Respond to of 89467

Relief over IBM Set to Bolster Wall St By Huw Jones Thursday October 17, 6:06 am ET LONDON (Reuters) - Relief over quarterly earnings and outlook from International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM - News) was set to lift Wall Street in opening trade on Thursday as the reporting season gathers pace. IBM said after Wednesday's close that third quarter earnings fell, though still beat market expectations. Big Blue also backed analyst estimates for earnings and revenue in the fourth quarter, which helped to calm jitters after chip giant Intel's (NasdaqNM:INTC - News) gloomy outlook triggered widespread profit-taking on Wednesday. By 4:43 a.m. EDT, S&P 500 stock index futures and Nasdaq 100 stock index futures were up about two percent each. "It's all eyes on earnings at the moment, we just take one report at a time," a U.S. share dealer in London said. In Europe, IBM shares traded at $70.75, up nine percent from a New York Stock Exchange close at $64.90. IBM posted profits from continuing operations of 99 cents a share, which excluded most of its hard disk drive operations. On that basis, the company had been expected to report earnings of 96 cents per share, according to Thomson First Call. Merrill Lynch investment bank raised its rating on the stock to "buy," with a price target of $82 per share. "In our view, IBM is clearly outperforming its competition with superior strategy and execution though weak IT spending may limit upside," said Merrill Lynch technology strategist Steven Milunovich. The technology sector now turns its attention to global software bellwether Microsoft Corp. (NasdaqNM:MSFT - News) which reports on Thursday. On Wednesday, the Dow Jones industrial average (CBOT:^DJI - News) closed down 2.6 percent at 8,036.03 points, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (NasdaqSC:^IXIC - News) shed 3.9 percent to end at 1,232.42 points. Elsewhere in the U.S. technology sector Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NYSE:AMD - News) shares traded at $4.15, up from their NYSE close at $3.49. The chipmaker posted a loss, but said it sees higher personal computer processor sales in the fourth quarter. Apple Computer Inc.'s (NasdaqNM:AAPL - News) stock fell to $13.95 from their close on Nasdaq at $14.56, after reporting its first net loss in nearly two years, due largely to charges from investment losses. Investors face a crop of second tier U.S. economic numbers, with jobless claims for the latest week due at 1230 GMT with a rise of 395,000 forecast. Housing starts for September are due at the same time. September's industrial production numbers are scheduled for 9:15 a.m. EDT, followed later by the Philadelphia Federal Reserve survey of manufacturing in the Mid-Atlantic region for October at noon.