Apple Turnover?

CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA: Four vice presidents in Apple Computer Inc.'s marketing division resigned Thursday, fueling speculation that the company was positioning itself for a merger or takeover. The announcement came a day after Apple said it would report a quarterly operating loss of nearly $70 million. "The company clearly has problems across the board," says TIME's Barbara Rudolph. "First they had a product that they couldn't keep in the stores because the demand exceeded supply. Then the profits went down. The irony is that their market share is up among personal computer users, and they have a really loyal customer base. If they lay off workers, as some think, it could be because they are getting ready for a merger, or they could just be battening down the hatches so they can stay independent." The news came at a bad time for the Silicon Valley-based firm: this week it opened MacWorld Expo, an annual trade conference on the company's MacIntosh line.