Big Blue's Q4 revenue increased 10 percent over last year, boosted by exchange rates and sales outside the United States IBM on Monday said fourth-quarter revenue, aided by exchange rates and sales outside the United States, stood at $28.9 billion, an increase of 10 percent over the same period in 2006.The figure, which topped predictions of $27.82 billion by analysts polled by Thomson First Call, was helped by the ongoing weakness in the dollar, IBM said.Samuel J. Palmisano, IBM’s chairman, president, and chief executive officer, said in a statement that the results were also helped by strong sales in Asia, Europe, and emerging markets. IBM said it earned $2.80 per share in the quarter, handily beating the analysts’ forecast of $2.60 per share. The results represent a 24 percent increase over the same period in 2006, when IBM earned $2.26 per share.Total revenue for 2007 was $98.6 billion, an 8 percent increase from 2006. Overall earnings for 2007 were $7.18 per share, a rise of 18 percent over 2006, according to IBM.The company also said it had more than $16 billion in cash on hand at the end of 2007. Shares of IBM shot up nearly 8 percent on the news in premarket trading Monday, to $105.36.IBM plans to provide a full earnings report during a Webcast on Thursday. Technology Industry