Cisco Plans to Cut 4,000 Jobs, as It Posts Profit Gain - NYTimes.com

Scope of Cisco as a leading indicator tbd

"Cisco was one of the first companies to aggressively cut costs at the end of the dot-com boom, a move some say allowed the company to rebound more quickly when the economy improved.
Given Cisco’s dominant position and Mr. Chambers’s reputation for spotting trouble early, Mr. Passi said the news was likely to be interpreted as a bad sign for the entire industry.
“The gas will come out of the tank tomorrow,” he said. “This is going to permeate across the tech sector.”"

Cisco Plans to Cut 4,000 Jobs, as It Posts Profit Gain - NYTimes.com