Russian PC market in the red

THE RAPID RISE of Russian PC demand over recent years has been fuelled not so much by vodka as by easy access to credit.

Although the crunch has hit the world's capitalist markets with tremendous force, the west - which has been riding the evil-capitalist-waves of boom and bust for a long while now - seems much better equipped to cope with a cold front than its eastern European neighbour.

Early numbers from the world's biggest research outfits suggest that Russia's PC market has now dived firmly into the red.

Having already channeled massive investment into the region, Owen-Christopher Kemp (HP's regional Tech Czar) might now find himself having to give some rather red-cheeked presentations to his boss Mark Hurd who was expecting some "tremendous economic growth" for his hard invested Roubles.

Only time will tell if Kemp will survive or whether he'll be the victim of a Romanov-style clearing out.

The Inquirer, you can be sure, will stay as close as possible to the front lines - flashing its press credentials to Royalists and Bolsheviks alike. µ