Strong Tech Earnings Suggest Sector Is Getting Its Mojo Back

Even as the broader markets have plunged this week, hints of economic recovery are beginning to show in the technology sector if recent earnings are anything to go by. Cisco Systems (CSCO) CEO John Chambers was particularly enthusiastic about the networking-gear company's fiscal second quarter 2010 performance, ending Jan. 23. During that time, revenue climbed to $9.8 billion -- up 8% from the year-ago quarter -- a feat that Chambers called "one of the most robust, positive turnarounds I've every seen in my career" and "a tipping point toward the "second phase of a capital spending recovery."