Word: ibm
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1970-1979
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...IBM and Merck join the club
This was accomplished by replacing two of the stodgier performers, Chrysler and Esmark (formerly Swift & Co., the meat packer), with glamorous Merck & Co. and IBM, which is the market's most popular growth stock. Their inclusion reflects the rising importance of technology and drug companies in the economy and stands to make the Dow somewhat more volatile. Both companies' shares have risen substantially in value over the past two decades (Merck has more than tripled, IBM has quintupled), and relatively high-priced stocks usually have sharper swing than do lower-priced ones. Had IBM and Merck replaced Chrysler...
...even these losses would pale beside a far less publicized jolt that the insurance group is suffering. It involves the labyrinthine world of computer leasing, a honey-tongued Texas hustler, the big gest and most prestigious U.S. banks and IBM. As a result of many forces, the Lloyd's insurance group faces the biggest loss in its 291-year history - up to $225 million, vs. the present record of $100 million paid to cover damages from Hurricane Betsy...
...Surety leased the computers to corporations or government agencies. Typically, the leasing contract is for seven years, with the proviso that the customer can break it after three or four years. Before 1974 the banks were unwilling to make loans for more than four years. They feared that giant IBM might roll out new models that would make the leased computers obsolete. Thus the growth of the leasing firms was hindered...
Last January the unexpected happened: IBM announced its new 4300 series of computers, which are faster and more powerful than anything else on the market-and cost 30% less to lease. Immediately, some firms began switching to the new computers and canceling their leases of other models. Lloyd's underwriters stopped issuing their policy, as claims began to flow in from leasing companies. Last month one of them, Federal Leasing Inc. of McLean, Va., filed a $627 million damage suit against the London insurance group. Itel, though badly shaken by the new IBM machines, is more patient. Says...