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Politics : Formerly About Applied Materials -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Duker who wrote (31746)	8/6/1999 9:50:00 AM
From: 16yearcycle	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 70976

Good one. No state taxes here though. So no one is impressed that NVLS is too cheap?

To: Duker who wrote (31746)	8/6/1999 4:50:00 PM
From: Proud_Infidel	Respond to of 70976

Not directly relevant to AMAT since they sold their 50% stake in Applied Komatsu but indicative of strong PC and semi-equipment sales: ******************************************* Scarce equipment compounds TFT-LCD shortage By Jack Robertson Electronic Buyers' News (08/06/99, 04:39:38 PM EDT) Manufacturing expansion plans under way in Korea and Taiwan may not bring relief to the industry's thin-film transistor (TFT)-LCD shortage any time soon, as display makers in these countries are reporting long delays in production-equipment lead times. Even as the flat-panel deficit threatens to retard growth in the notebook-PC and desktop-monitor replacement markets, a scarcity of manufacturing tools has LCD makers griping about their lack of supply. The shortage covers almost the full gamut of display production equipment, including lithography, resist and etching tools, deposition chambers, and substrate handling devices. Engineers to install and check out equipment are also said to be in short supply, so even if equipment can be delivered, there can be a problem getting it properly installed and qualified, according to vendors. "[The] equipment we need is on allocation," said David Barnes, business technology manager for Philips Flat Display Systems Inc., San Jose. "We're getting one or two machines every couple of weeks, but nothing on the scale we need to get production lines ready. We're not going to have new capacity on line as soon as we had hoped." Philips and its joint-venture partner, Korea's LG LCD Inc., had planned to bring a third TFT-LCD fab on line next year, but the facility is competing for scarce equipment. Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. is having the same problems completing its Line 3 in Chonan, Korea, said Avo Kanadjian, vice president of memory marketing for San Jose-based Samsung Semiconductor Inc. Samsung hopes the equipment bottleneck eases by the time the company starts building its fourth-generation Line 4 late this year. Initial production at that site is slated for the second half of 2000. The pressure in Taiwan, where more than a half-dozen new TFT-LCD fabs are under construction, is even more severe. The expected influx of panels coming from these new facilities signals the next wave of TFT-LCD oversupply, according to analysts. But Taiwan's panel makers now say they are struggling through the same equipment shortages as their competitors in Korea and elsewhere, and may not be able to ramp new production as quickly as planned. In Japan, the equipment bottleneck is hampering Toshiba Corp.'s plan to establish a polysilicon TFT-LCD production base and capture an early lead in this new market. Bob Brown, president and chief operating officer of Toshiba America Electronic Components Inc., Irvine, Calif., said the company is building a major new polysilicon fab in Fukaya, Japan, but is "facing equipment delays, just like everyone else." Display suppliers bemoaned the fact that a number of new flat-panel markets are hitting their stride just as the industry is falling into another period of shortage. "Suddenly, all these efforts are coming to fruition, and we have many new customers clamoring for displays just at the time we can't build enough panels," said Joel Pollack, director of sales and marketing for display products at Sharp Electronics Corp.'s Microelectronics Group, Camas, Wash. Panel makers expect the shortage to continue for some time, given the volatility of the LCD market. ebnews.com

To: Duker who wrote (31746)	8/6/1999 8:59:00 PM
From: Robert O	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 70976

Great stuff, especially pre-dawn. Can't tell for EK, but might not be quite as bad as all that... if there's other capital action afoot and rates 'matter' to that filer: 'If the total of your capital gains is more than the total of your capital losses, the excess is taxable. However, the part that is not more than your net capital gain may be taxed at a rate that is lower than the rate of tax on your ordinary income.' Seems like that could've been written more clearly ;-) RO NVLS got only 4.45/10.00 of the way Friday as jobs were too good