Didn't We Just Get Done With This? Preannouncements Begin

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David Gaffen: Tech Stocks Not Cheap Yet

Justin Lahart: Margin Debt at Worrisome Levels

Jim Cramer: Get Liquid

Brett Fromson: Get Ready For Fourth-Quarter Pre-Announcements

Technical View: A Lesson in Tops for a Market Ready to Bottom

Metrics View: A Dozen Stocks Still Defy Gravity

Taskmaster Chat: Take a Defensive Posture

Fund Junkie: Climate Is Changing for Net Bellwether Stocks

Tech investors should get ready now for fourth-quarter preannouncement season. In fact, it's already started.

Yesterday, TelCom Semiconductor (TLCM Quote) warned that Q4 revenues will be about 10% lower than the prior quarter. (TelCom, which sells a lot of chips to cell-phone companies, led off the third-quarter preannouncements as well.) And given the unexpected misses in the past week by two of the better tech companies -- Dell Computer(DELL Quote) and Hewlett-Packard (HWP Quote) -- investors must assume unpleasant surprises ahead for lesser corporations.

The coming announcements could well hit tech stocks like another wintry blizzard of cold news. Only someone in complete denial can fail to realize that the meaning of the third quarter is that we are staring at a dramatic slowdown in technology revenue and earnings growth. ...