IBM focusing on emerging market

International Business Machines Corp., the world’s biggest computer-services company, will buy back $15 billion of stock. IBM rose to a four-month high in New York trading and U.S. stocks rallied, erasing earlier declines. The repurchase, which adds to about $400 million remaining under a previous plan, may lift earnings by 5 cents a share this year, IBM said today.
The company is focusing on emerging markets for growth. Sales in Europe, the Middle East and Africa rose 16 percent last quarter, while Asia climbed 15 percent, IBM said. In December, the company announced it will spend an additional $1.6 billion on sales in marketing in China, India and other developing countries through 2010. With the US economy heading for recession, IBM is hoping to have their growth through emerging market. I would say, they are too confident at the emerging market growth.