Loren Loverde Market Quotations

Maybe we can't keep up the pace, but the market is healthy.

Growth remains limited, but at least the market is moving in the right direction again. We believe the market is a lot healthier than it was three months ago, as inventories have come down and expectations for growth are more realistic.

Outside of the industry, there is the stock market decline, concerns about economic trends, oil prices, and the presidential election. Within the industry, consumers are not yet in the upgrade cycle for Windows Millennium Edition, and there aren't really applications demanding faster processors and upgrades.

Market growth ahead of forecasts in almost all regions reflects continuing strong demand.

Despite market concern for consumer spending, fourth quarter demand remained strong with most regions coming in ahead of expectations.

Following the shocks of 2001 and 2002 many people were impressed with the strength of the market in 2004 but cautious about the foundation and longevity of this growth. The fact that solid double-digit growth has continued through 2005 shows that the market recovery did not peak in 2004 as many expected but is still ongoing.

Although growth has declined slightly from the second and third quarters, the market's resilience in the face of rising interest rates, high fuel prices, a weaker Euro, and other potential inhibitors puts the market in a great position to start 2006.

The cumulative impact of a worsening economy, declining capital investments and reduced consumer spending is strongly affecting the Japanese market. Although the Japanese market resisted for a while, it now looks like the PC market in Japan will be flat-to-negative into 2002.