CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Time for a little 'Business Buzz' right now. It could be a jolly holiday season for PC makers. Carrie Lee reports live from the Nasdaq market site at Times Square. Good morning.</s>CARRIE LEE, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning again, Carol. PC sales expected to come in at their highest level since 1999. According to NPD Group, after declining for three years, PC sales this Christmas season could be up by as much as 19 percent. And retailers and analysts say that gains started with the back-to-school season in August. They continued through the fall, and now they are carrying into recent weeks. Now two things are happening here. No. 1, buyers are replacing older machines. But also, No. 2, PCs at the home are becoming more and more accepted as entertainment and imaging devices rather than just a way of cruising the Internet. Now true, prices have come down significantly overall in recent years, but these days it looks like buyers are favoring more profitable laptop PCs, also feature-heavy desk tops. So that's boosting the bottom line. We have heard from a couple of companies, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, even Best Buy, all giving upbeat assessments for this season. So not looking too bad for personal computers sales this year -- Carol.</s>COSTELLO: All right. Thanks, Carrie Lee, we appreciate it. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Home PC sales Expected to Rise This Holiday