Chipmakers say the worst may be over, while computer companies say foreign markets for computer systems are going soft. The question is whether signs of a recovery are just wishful thinking or the real thing. What we are seeing is continued deterioration, Carly Fiorina, the CEO of computer and printer maker Hewlett-Packard Co. said this week. We are now becoming more convinced that this is a global IT slowdown, which will last for some time. There is no clear consensus from industry leaders or from Wall Street.
Many analysts look at a few key issues.
Those include improved, lower inventory levels for computer and chip makers and whether any events on the horizon will stimulate demand. Some also divide the world into the United States and the rest, arguing that the globe's leading economy stumbled first and should show the first signs of recovery. What we are seeing is customers becoming more discriminating, said Fiorina, adding that customers would only buy technology that clearly would improve profits. We are doing exactly the same thing, she said. Brian Halla, chairman, president and CEO of National Semiconductor Corp., said cell phone and personal computer makers had burned through excess inventory but would not order more parts before they needed them.