Cash in Hand, High-Tech Giants Snap Up Rivals

As an avalanche of bankruptcies shutters retail chains, construction firms and restaurants across the nation, high-tech industry heavyweights are seeing opportunity in the stubborn economic downturn. IBM, Intel and Oracle have been on a buying binge in recent weeks and are among the few companies with the resources to make major acquisitions as banks clamp down on borrowing. In a repeat of the dot-com bust of the early 2000s, the tech giants are snapping up competitors at relatively low prices to bulk up and buy into new lines of business so they are better positioned when the economy rebounds.