SHARES IN Hewlett-Packard jumped 9 per cent in midday trading yesterday, ahead of a board meeting at which the computer firm was expected to consider replacing chief executive Leo Apotheker after less than a year in the job. One person close to the decision-making process said the directors were “likely” to opt to replace Mr Apotheker with Meg Whitman, the former chief executive of Ebay and an HP board member. The person said the board would not be voting on a contract yet.

HP declined to comment and Mr Apotheker did not respond immediately to questions. The reports follow Mr Apotheker’s announcement last month of a dramatic acceleration in his push to make HP more of a big-business software company and less dependent on commoditised hardware. – (The Financial Times Ltd)