Apple announces massive loss on eve of MacWorldApple announces massive loss on eve of MacWorld

Friday night, after the close of the Stock Market, Apple Computer announcedthat it would lose between $100 million and $150 million for its first quarter. The company blames slow sales of the Performa line and a shortageof PowerBooks. Performas are Apple's Macs for the home market; PowerBooksare portable computers that generally sell very well.Apple's sales slid 34 percent from the same quarter last year, when theylost $69 million. In September, Apple's share of the global computer marketslipped to 5.4%. Apple will release final figures on January 15