Compaq bashed after loss warning

NEWS Compaq's warning that it will suffer third quarter losses has put the company's share price under pressure. By close of trading in the US, the PC maker had lost two per cent. There was a knock-on effect felt by the other large manufacturers. Significantly HP, which plans to acquire Compaq, lost 2.24 per cent and a further 0.33 per cent in after hours trading. The company said the attack on the World Trade Center last month had impacted on sales and supply chain. Dell also felt the pinch and dipped into the red by one per cent. However, a Merrill Lynch analyst quoted on cbsmarketwatch.com said: "We have seen no indication that Dell has had any significant disruption in its supply chain in September."