Is the technology sector on the verge of a recovery?
Today we saw chip maker Intel announce fourth-quarter profits which indicate that the recession is over in the technology sector and consumers and businesses are flocking back to the arena. Fourth-quarter sales for Intel rose by an impressive 29% to $10.6 billion which was slightly higher than forecasts of around $10.2 billion. It would appear that orders for computers have increased around the world and Intel, which is the leader in computer microchips, has benefited enormously.
Intel has always been seen as the bellwether of the technology sector in America and often reflects very closely the spending habits of businesses and consumers in the States. It will be interesting to see if other technology companies follow suit with such upbeat statements and forecasts for the future because this is a sector which can swing wildly on investor sentiment and individual company results. Often the first sector to be hit in a recession, because of the relatively high ratings attributed to many companies, technology shares have shown some signs of recovery of late but are nowhere near their highs of just over two years ago.
Whether we will see businesses and consumers holding back on further computing expenditure in the short term remains to be seen but positive sentiment does appear to be returning to the sector.
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