IBM announced that it plans to <A HREF="http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/22705.wss">repurchase up to $1 billion of its outstanding common stock</A> in open market transactions by the end of February 2008. These repurchases, originally planned for March and April of 2008, are in addition to a $12.5 billion accelerated share repurchase announced earlier this year.