Cost cuts help tech giants ride out weak economy

A solid crop of earnings reports from the leading lights of technology suggests the sector is proving adept at cost cuts and more resilient to the economic meltdown than previously thought. While executives from Apple, Google, IBM and Intel were almost uniformly cautious in talking about the rest of the year, they all reported quarterly profits that beat Wall Street expectations.With corporate and consumer spending under pressure, analysts say many tech companies moved swiftly to slash jobs and output -- positioning themselves for growth when a bottom is reached, which some say may have happened already.