IBM Corp shares could find nought for their comfort in the fourth quarter figures, and still less in the gloomy outlook presented by the company with regard to the first half of this year – even if the US and the UK economies improve, France, Germany, Italy and Japan are all getting worse – and the shares were off $1.50 to $48 in early trading after the figures; we’re not the only people saying that there will be another operating loss this quarter (see page five) – They will have an operating loss in the first quarter, says S G Warburg analyst David Wu.
