Microsoft: No one immune to economic troubles

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The global financial crisis will sap both consumer and business spending, and no one is immune, according to Microsoft's chief executive Steve Ballmer.

"Financial issues are going to affect both business spending and consumer spending, and particularly ... spending by the financial services industry," Ballmer told reporters on the sidelines of a news conference in the Norwegian capital.

"I think one has to anticipate that no company is immune to these issues," he said, but declined to be more specific.

Despite his gloomy outlook, Ballmer last week said he expected IT firms and telcos to stay strong.

Wall Street analysts, on average, expect the Redmond, Washington-based company to generate an eight per cent rise in revenue to just under $15 billion (£8.3 billion) in its first-quarter ending in September.

Ballmer said he believed the US Congress would soon help stabilise the situation after rejecting a $700 billion bank bailout plan yesterday. "I trust that before the end of the week we have some resolution, at least in the US Congress, that will help to stabilise the situation. We need that, I hope we get that," he said.

"I have to believe that some of the issues also face the European banks and I trust that the European Central Bank will be as intelligent as it needs to be around that," he said.

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