Up until a few weeks ago tech companies felt virtually immune to the economic problems we've been talking about, but according to experts at Stanford University, no business is immune to the credit crunch.
Most of Silicon Valley companies like Cisco and Apple have a lot of cash stashed away, so they don't have to rely on credit and didn't have to worry when the credit crisis hit. The problem though is that a lot of their customers do rely on credit and they are getting squeezed – not just in the U.S. but the Wall Street financial mess is also hitting worldwide, and that is where a lot of the tech companies do their business.
"The companies are going to make the investments they were planning to make. They are going to be quite sensitive for that and also for consumers in case for a company like Apple," said Stanford School of Business Professor Peter DeMarzo.
It's not just the established companies that are feeling that pinch. Venture capitalists are watching where they are putting their cash and are telling start-ups to start cutting and prepare for a long downturn ahead.
There is a conference at Stanford called Understanding the Credit Crisis and what it means to you.
