Technology giant IBM has announced a rise in profits over the last three months, despite unfavourable currency movements.

The company’s success is often seen as a good indicator of health in the technology sector, as it recorded a net profit of $3.88 billion over the three months ending in June. This marks a 6% increase on profits at the same time last year and comes in a period in which profits also took a $1 billion hit on currency movements.

This reflects general expectations at IBM, which believes that full year profits will also be higher than previously expected. It is not the only financial entity expecting great things; hedge fund Managers such as Philip Falcone’s Harbinger Capital and Moore Capital Management founded by Louis Bacon are also predicting a rise in profit this year.

IBM’s profit results have instilled greater confidence in a sector that has been struggling in recent months. Analysts were concerned about a drop in investment in technology firms from the wider economy and the effect that this may have on potential profit margins. These fears were partially realised, as the company’s revenue dropped by around 3% to $25.78 billion. However, IBM were able to beat their expectations for earning per share, delivering value to investors and shareholders and ensuring their stock continues to work hard in the markets.

The weak economic conditions in developed markets has made it a difficult period for IBM, which would have struggled if not for an excellent performance from its global services unit. Despite these difficult conditions, emphasis has been placed on the success of IBM’s resilient business model by top executives. This attitude was recognised by analyst Chris Gartner, who was surprised that “they didn’t talk more about the macroeconomic cycle”; he believed that this indicated that the company was positioning itself for greatly increased profits once economic conditions began to improve.

The importance of currency shifts was once again at the forefront of news concerning profits, as without their negative impact, IBM believe their software department would have witnessed a sales growth of 4 per cent. This would have helped contribute to an overall growth of 1% for the company.

The services department, to which much of the recent success has been attributed, has made a concerted effort to push through much of the remedial work it had promised on under-performing service contracts. This seems to have made a great deal of difference, as the division as a whole accounted for 57% of IBM’s revenue during this period.

The news concerning IBM’s financial activity comes on the back of a number of great publicity coups, including the creation of the world’s fastest computer in the Sequoia. The “fastest computer” title is one that it has strived to have for two years. The win reflects their interest in the capability of its microprocessors, which aim to replicate the way in which the human brain operates.

Even in demanding economic conditions, there is no doubt that IBM continues to act as a beacon for the rest of the technology industry, maintaining their position as leaders of the sector. As the company continues to position itself to take advantage of improving world markets, expectations are that they will continue to improve on the results seen over the difficult last few years.

Campaign contributions from hedge funds became a central issue within the battle for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate in Connecticut.

Last week, Sally Bysiewicz, who is battling Rep. James Murphy for the nod to hunt the seat currently held by the retiring Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.), released a poster accusing Murphy of taking additional hedge fund whit the other Democrat in Congress.  She conjointly alleged that Murphy has taken over $700,000 from Wall Street donors.

Bysiewicz says the donations are proof that Murphy is in Wall Street’s pocket, criticizing him for voting against closing a hedge fund tax loophole.

The only downside is, neither accusation is true.

According to campaign finance records, Murphy has received $10,200 from hedge funds within the Senate campaign, making him twenty first among all House members this year. Among Senate candidates this year, he is thirty seventh in hedge fund investments—and Bysiewicz is forty first.

In addition, Murphy has received $328,195 from Wall Street companies this year. That will indeed deem him the most important Democratic recipient of such campaign to  make the most the House—but not among hedge funds.

Bysiewicz has refused to tug the ad—Murphy has demanded that tv stations do thus themselves as a result partners of its inaccuracies—and at a Sunday discussion in Bridgeport, Bysiewicz defended the spot.

Traxis Partners LP, the $1.2 billion hedge fund started by Barton Biggs, told purchasers it’ll liquidate a vehicle he managed and transfer the assets to a different pool following his death over the weekend.

The Traxis international Equity Macro Fund is going to be cashed out and also the assets are going to be invested on Aug, one within the Traxis Fund, managed by partners Amer Bisat, Andy Skov and Krishen Sud, the Greenwich, Connecticut-based firm told purchasers during a letter, a replica of that was obtained by Bloomberg News. Investors can have the choice of withdrawing their cash at the tip of this month.