WITH newspaper headlines screaming the latest news of debt provisions, profit collapses and job cutbacks, many investors would be forgiven for steering clear of the United States computer industry.
But amid all the doom and gloom, there remain a few bright spots and Smith Barney research managing director Barry Bosak has marked out a handful of stocks as ''buy'' prospects.
Mr Bosak, in Hongkong yesterday as part of an Asian tour which has taken in the computer and component manufacturing centres of Singapore and Penang, admitted the downturn in fortunes of the US computer industry had come as a shock to the many who believed there would always be promise of growth.
With too many players chasing the limited market, many have had to cut workforces by 25 to 30 per cent to cope with reduced circumstances.
IBM, for example, has seen its payroll reduced from 400,000 to 300,000 and analysts expect further reductions this year.
The company's dismal financial performance - it sent shudders through Wall Street last month when it announced a year-end loss of almost US$5 billion - has not totally dismayed Mr Bosak, however.
