Wall Street takes any excuse, however flimsy, to push up share prices these days, and it grasped at the straw of what looks like a rogue forecast that IBM Corp will do $2.82 a share at the operating level (as if it mattered when the net result at the bottom line is going to be a thumping great loss after charges for the shuddering shakeup) against an average of Street forecasts of $2.58, to add $2.50 to the IBM share price at $95 even; the market as a whole was down a shade, but other computer stocks entered the spirit of things, with Microsoft Corp up $3.625 at $132, DEC up $2.125 at $58.125; as far as IBM is concerned all should be revealed tomorrow.
