IBM Says Profit Falls 12.9%

International Business Machines Corp., the world’s largest computer company, said today that its profit fell 12.9% in the second quarter of the year from a year earlier.

IBM cited a sluggish economy, a slowdown in orders and a strong dollar for the decline in the April-June period. It marked a 15% drop in profits in the first six months of the year on a 2% rise in revenue.