Well, what were IBM’s first quarter figures like? They were due to be published yesterday but the UK Post Office’s holiday schedule meant that we were unable to bring them to you in this issue and they will have to wait until tomorrow: ahead of the announcement, analysts were looking for profits flat with the weak figure reported a year ago, with the consensus at $1.60 a share against $1.61 a year ago; all eyes will be on how the US business performed, because there are hopes of a pick-up from the long doldrums; there are fears that DEC and Unisys Corp will both see losses.
