IBM and Apple report strong profits for last quarter, but they are exceptions in an IT market that looks shaky thus far Despite strong earnings from bellwether IT vendors this week and forecasts for continued global IT market growth in 2007, earnings warnings and mixed economic news are making IT investors nervous.IBM reported an 11 percent rise in fourth-quarter profit on Thursday, buoyed by its global services division and strong demand in software. Earnings per share of $2.26 topped expectations of analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call, who forecast earnings of $2.19 a share. But IBM’s share price in after-hours trading, depressed by the general decline in tech stocks, fell by $3.48 to $96.00 within 30 minutes of the announcement.IT vendor share prices and markets declined broadly Thursday with the IT-heavy Nasdaq dropping 36.21 to 2443.21. Also Thursday, an average quarterly forecast from Apple tarnished its Wednesday announcement of record fourth quarter performance. Apple’s $1 billion profit for the quarter ended Dec. 31, fueled by iPod and notebook sales, blew away expectations. But its forecast per share profit for the current quarter is about half that. Apple shares plunged $5.88 to close at $89.07 Thursday.The IBM and Apple news follows announcements from Intel, AMD, Symantec, and SAP AG, which issued earnings warnings or weak results during the past week as earnings-report season got under way.The general economic picture darkened when Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke warned members of Congress about interest rates and the growing national debt at a meeting in Washington, D.C. on Thursday. “Unfortunately, we are experiencing what seems likely to be the calm before the storm,” Bernanke said, discussing government spending and the national deficit. “A vicious cycle may develop in which large deficits lead to rapid growth in debt and interest payments,” he said.The Nasdaq ended the year with 9.5 percent growth, its best year since 2003. But it’s getting off to a slow start in 2007. Though various holidays and a national day of mourning for ex-President Gerald Ford have prevented markets from opening for a full week, markets were generally down in the first five trading days of the year — traditionally seen as a portent of the year.In the software sector, SAP AG last week warned of lower-than-expected revenue for last quarter due to sales in the U.S. and Asia Pacific. Tuesday, Symantec warned of lower-than-expected results for last quarter due to weak sales in its enterprise storage group. The chip market is also in turmoil. AMD last week warned of a dip in its fourth-quarter results because of falling microprocessor prices. On Tuesday, Intel reported a profit of $1.5 billion for the fourth quarter, down 39 percent compared to that period last year — a result largely due to competitive price pressure.Overall, market researchers such as IDC and iSuppli are forecasting another year of about 6.5 percent growth for IT markets globally. But a 2007 scenario of rising rates, lower margins, and moderate growth suggests that while some vendors may enjoy a solid year, there could be some big losers.As more companies announce official earnings results during the next few weeks, it will become clearer whether or not the bad news so far is a sign of a general downturn in technology or just the limited fallout inevitable in a period of moderate growth in a mature sector. Technology Industry