WSJ Report - mostly upbeat for tech companies

The Wall Street Journal reports that, although some big names are starting to feel the heat from the current conditions, there are some definite bright spots in the picture. Dell announced that demand is weakening for their products. That's to be expected as buyers in every market respond to uncertainty by scaling back on capital expenditures. Consumers are less likely to make big purchases amid all gloomy news, and businesses will probably start to conserve cash more aggressively now that raising funds is getting more difficult.

On the other hand, technology companies with a diversified offering are expecting a good year, in spite of everything that has happened. Cisco and Hewlett-Packard both announced that their upbeat forecasts are in line with expected performance for the balance of the year. Gartner forecast $3.4 trillion in overall IT spending for 2008, up from $3.2 trillion last year.

Put these limited data points together, and I conclude that 2008 will end up being a decent year. It won't necessarily be a great year, but consumers and businesses will find themselves a little better off than when the year started.

Here is the link to the WSJ Article (may require registration): Dell Forecasts Soft Demand, but Rivals are Upbeat