"It is not clear to us as to whether the business is getting that much worse or this announcement reflects the inclinations of the new CEO," Milunovich said in reference to the new tenure of Sam Palmisano. "We believe that management may be inclined to set the earnings expectations lower going forward."
He maintained ratings of "intermediate-term neutral" and "long-term buy" on IBM.
An IBM spokesman did not respond when asked about a separate report in the Wall Street Journal that the company has notified 600 customer engineers in its global services operations in the U.S. that they will be laid off, the Wall Street Journal said.
Market watchers noted that speculation about an IBM warning had been swirling in recent days. Nervousness about the technology giant has taken place over the last several quarters on the eve of earnings season. See full story.
Adding to the worries have been concerns about accounting issues at Big Blue." ****************** Can't decide if that 600 customer engineers lay-off belongs in my End of Low Unemployment file or my Just how much do these guys coordinate Major Market Manipulation?(does someone call John Chambers and ask him to hype it up even as the tech bubble is bursting?) file. Maybe both. Anyway IBM just plunged through it's Sept 11 low, five points above it's Dec '00 bottom.
Also from IBM: This reminds me of the deals the food-industrial complex offered the chicken farmers. Could things turn out just as badly for these software companies? IBM provides some fluff, the small companies provide the debt and the employee benefits.
http://biz.yahoo.com/iw/020407/040331.html
"We can provide a very compelling value proposition for IBM Digital Media Technology Providers, Business Partners, and Developers -- an opportunity to expand their customer base in digital media, as the marketplace grows, said Hal Van Hercke, business development executive for IBM Digital Media. "We are casting a "Digital Media Value Net" looking to work with proven technology companies. IBM has a solid e-business infrastructure and middleware platform, but our goal is to integrate with best-in-class application providers for maximum leverage and competitive advantage."
>From startup to market-ready - and beyond, becoming an IBM software
developer provides connections to new markets, potential allies, and
investors. Other benefits of becoming an IBM developer in digital media
include marketing and sales, marketing education, IBM Business Partner
opportunities, co-marketing and promotion, education and certification,
technical support, incentives, financing, and the IBM Membership Center.