Steve Ballmer's candor about Microsoft's earnings can be refreshing, or startling, depending on your perspective.

Today he made comments at an event in Norway that suggest Microsoft's going to take a hit from the economic downturn.

He's stating the obvious -- of course companies will spend less on software and technology if they're suffering -- but I wonder what it says about Microsoft's Oct. 23 earnings report.

Ballmer's comments came before Microsoft closed up about 7 percent today, but his concerns about enterprise spending pushed SAP down 2 percent in Germany, according to a Reuters report.

An excerpt:

"We have a lot of business with the corporate sector as well as with the consumer sector and whatever happens economically will certainly effect itself on Microsoft," he told Reuters.

"I think one has to anticipate that no company is immune to these issues," he said, but declined to be more specific.