Tech Sector's Wrecked Week

On Wednesday, the Commerce Department released the bad news that U.S. durable goods orders, excluding transportation, fell 0.1% instead of rising 1.8% as predicted. It was the second-consecutive monthly decline in this business-spending barometer.

As a result, it was a tough week for the technology sector -- although a few tech funds did manage to survive the week unscathed.

If businesses continue to cut back on spending, delaying the purchase of new equipment, the Business Cycle Dating Committee of the National Bureau of Economic Research may look back at this period and declare it the beginning of a recession. ...