Apple Posts $708 Million Loss -- As readers in the United States agonized over their tax forms last week, the folks at Apple found themselves staring at a $708 million quarterly loss, the second worst showing in Apple's history. The bulk of the loss comes from Apple's $375 million purchase of NeXT Software and a $155 million charge to cover "restructuring activities."

Although the numbers sound intimidating, especially since the company's deep reserve pockets are now significantly shallower, the press hasn't jumped back on the "Apple is dead" bandwagon that keeps rolling along Infinite Loop. This may be due to several elements that support a gradual success of the company's restructuring plans: operating expenses were down $32 million from last quarter, and down $65 million from the same quarter last year; business sales climbed 35 percent over the first quarter; and PowerBook sales accounted for 22 percent of total revenue, up from 10 percent. [JLC]

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