Some companies may exaggerate the war's effects to compensate for their own mistakes or unrelated industry turmoil, Hill said.
Computer companies, including Oracle Corp and Gateway Inc, said two weeks ago that war worries led customers to cut back on spending. The more likely cause is a hangover from the late 1990s binge of computer buying, analysts said.
"It doesn't make you look bad if you're blaming this external thing rather than anything at the company," Hill said.
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