Xerox stock soars 20%

Xerox's shares rose by 20% after the company said it is in a strong position and its 2009 profit would be roughly in line with analysts' forecasts, reports CNN Money.

The document services and imaging company said profit would be in the range of $1 to $1.25 per share, which is roughly in line with consensus estimates of $1.16 a share, according to Thomson Financial.

The company said its expectations reflect the "extraordinary volatility" of the dollar, but added that it is sufficiently capitalised to weather the economic and financial downturn.

Hewlett-Packard's (HP) net earnings fell to $2.1 billion, 84 cents a share, from $2.16 billion, 81c a share, in the same period a year earlier, says Market Watch.

Sales at HP's imaging and printing group declined 1% to $7.5 billion as printer unit shipments decreased 8%. The company explains sales of all printers, including those from competitors, have suffered recently.

HP CEO and president Mark Hurd says lower unit growth is not necessarily bad, unless it means the company is losing market share. HP noted it sees sales of wireless printers, which grew 64% in the quarter, as having a great deal of strategic value.

Small and medium enterprises in Singapore are set to spend $157 million on printers and printing supplies by the end of 2008, up 5% compared to 2007, states Business Wire.

Printing supplies will account for the bulk of the spending at 79% of the total, according to the latest study by Access Markets International (AMI) Partners.

“About 83% of the spending on printers and print suppliers will come from small businesses in Singapore,” says Cindy Tan, Singapore-based senior analyst at AMI-Partners. “There will be a higher penetration for monochrome printers among SMEs, most adopting laser single-function and inkjet single-function printers.”