Someone's Still BuyingSomeone's Still Buying

The business-technology sector followed the upward path of the rest of the economy in the third quarter, according to the Commerce Department's gross domestic product figures released last week. Overall GDP expanded at a 3.1% annual rate to $9.5 trillion. The upswing is especially noteworthy for IT, which has lagged behind the rest of the economy during the downturn.

Spending on IT equipment and software hit a seasonally adjusted $840.7 billion last quarter, up from $838.5 billion in the second quarter. Last week, IBM CEO Samuel Palmisano said he saw signs that the economy has bottomed out or at least flattened.