Stories by: Clare Haney

Although the ongoing slump in the US economy is already having a negative impact on the growth of global IT spending, worldwide spending on technology will not be hurt drastically by the downturn in the US, according to market analyst company IDC.

IBM Wednesday announced fourth-quarter and year-end financial results above analysts' expectations. The company also feels comfortable with analysts' financial forecasts for fiscal 2001, according to IBM's chief financial officer.

Despite dubbing fiscal 2000 overall a "record" year for both earnings and revenue, Intel announced on Tuesday revised fourth-quarter financial results and said it expects first-quarter results to be adversely hit by current economic uncertainty. The company also revealed that it plans to close a manufacturing plant in Puerto Rico as a way to cut costs.

Apple Computer Tuesday added its name to the ever-growing list of technology companies issuing profit warnings. The company said it will report its first loss in three years for its first fiscal quarter of 2001.

Monday had some bad news for investors -- a profit warning -- resulting largely from a slowdown in spending on the company's products among telecommunications carriers. However, 3Com remains confident that the carrier segment of its business will recover and provide it with long-term growth opportunities.

In the wake of several of its PC competitors issuing profit warnings, Hewlett-Packard Thursday recommitted to its most recent predictions for the company's likely financial performance in fiscal 2001.

Microsoft is hoping to debut its TabletPC sometime in 2002 with the device being sold by OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) at "laptop prices", key members of the Microsoft development team said here Sunday.

Toshiba has signed a deal to supply Dell with components on a worldwide basis.

Novell's chief last week poured cold water on rumours that the software vendor is looking to spin off some of its businesses. However, he didn't rule out such a move in the future. "People love to generate rumours," Novell chairman and CEO Eric Schmidt said when questioned about the company's third-quarter financial results. However, he quickly added that it's important for Novell to consider any strategic initiatives that might help generate value for the company's shareholders.

Novell has announced third-quarter fiscal 2000 results indicating the software vendor still has problems with the sales side of its global operations as it struggles to restructure its business.

US database and tools vendor Informix is to lay off nearly 500 employees, a spokesman for the company confirmed Thursday.