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To: Mao II who wrote (3422)	3/10/1999 12:55:00 AM
From: Dale Baker	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 118717

What's the buzz on VRIO? Enough to make April 40 calls look interesting at a couple of bucks? Looks like PC sales aren't dead yet: Worldwide PC Shipments Seen Rising 14% in 1st Quarter, IDC Says Framingham, Massachusetts, March 9 (Bloomberg) -- Global shipments of personal computers are expected to rise 14.1 percent in the first quarter, more than previously forecast, led by growth in the U.S. and Europe, a market-research firm said. International Data Corp. earlier forecast first-quarter PC shipments to rise 11.4 percent. It also boosted its 1999 growth forecast to 14.3 percent from 13.2 percent. Still, as PC prices plummet further, the dollar value of shipments is expected to rise just 4.8 percent to $178.4 billion in 1999, IDC said. Shipments in the fourth quarter will be almost 15 percent lower than those in the fourth quarter, following a normal seasonal pattern of slower sales after the holiday sales rush. No. 1 PC maker Compaq Computer Corp. said last month that January sales to corporate customers were sluggish, sparking concern that demand is slowing. No. 3 direct PC seller Micron Electronics Inc. also warned that fiscal second-quarter earnings would be lower than expected because of weak demand for older products. The U.S. is expected to see the strongest growth of any region, with shipments rising 19.3 percent in the first quarter. Demand in the U.S. is driven by strong consumer interest in inexpensive PCs, IDC said. Vendors that will benefit from the strong consumer growth include Compaq, Gateway 2000 Inc., eMachines Inc. and Apple Computer Inc., IDC said. In 1998, PC shipments rose 12 percent. The Asia-Pacific market is expected to increase 14 percent in the first quarter from a year ago, while Japan is forecast to increase 6 percent, IDC said.