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To: Duker who wrote (3228)	8/11/1999 4:46:00 PM
From: Jong Hyun Yoo	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 5867

We have reached another 52 week high point. I have a feeling that we will have many days like today in the future. I am only terrified by the fact that things have merely begun. Happy investing...

To: Duker who wrote (3228)	8/11/1999 5:02:00 PM
From: Proud_Infidel	Respond to of 5867

Duker, If you're terrified of the prosperity you've already been subjected to, just wait for more headlines like this: 200mm Wafer Input Hits All-Time High; Concern Over Short Supply Grows August 11, 1999 (TOKYO) -- Input of 200mm wafers at semiconductor makers worldwide hit an all-time high in April for the second consecutive month, according to a Nikkei Market Access survey. At the same time, wafer supplies are becoming tight. Contrary to the rebounding wafer input, wafer makers' production capacity has been declining because of manpower shortages and intensifying requirements for precision technology. Shipments have reached the limit of the output at present. The 200mm wafer input slumped in 1998 after achieving a new high in October 1997. Wafer makers then engaged in price competition to keep their production lines operating. Wafer prices dropped about 40 percent in 1998. Restructuring spread among wafer makers from the second half of 1998 to early 1999 to tackle the deteriorating business results. Also, intensifying market requirements for wafer flatness to cope with process technology innovations have reduced wafer yields. Wafer input recovered in 1999 thanks to growing demand for LSIs for use in mobile telephones and other products. However, production capacity of wafers has been declining because wafer makers can increase neither manpower nor manufacturing equipment. Wafer makers cannot afford to invest, and the prospect of improvement in production capacity is still uncertain. Worldwide concerns about the shortage of wafers and semiconductor chips will grow until wafer makers have started their next round of investments. Appropriate allocation of wafers on a worldwide basis will become necessary to cope with the problem that the production of microprocessors will cause a shortage of wafers for other semiconductor chips. The shortage of wafers with a diameter of 150mm or less is more serious. Production lines that can handle these wafers are being phased out. In addition, to raise profitability, wafer makers are transferring manpower to production lines that can handle larger wafers. The prices of small wafers are rising in some regions. In the wake of that, negotiations already have started to raise the prices of 200mm wafers.

To: Duker who wrote (3228)	8/11/1999 9:34:00 PM
From: Proud_Infidel	Respond to of 5867

Flash memory scarce as MP3 players ramp EE Times (08/11/99, 6:22 p.m. EDT) SEOUL, South Korea ? Supplies of flash memory have become tight in South Korea, potentially endangering the rapid ramp of a host of new Internet audio players. In addition, Korean manufacturers are reporting a sharp upturn in DRAM prices and an ongoing shortage of LCDs. The flash shortage is being attributed in part to the fast rise in production of MP3 players here and to the increasing use of flash in other digital consumer devices, such as cameras and video recorders. Manufacturers also report a scarcity of other solid-state storage media, including the SmartMedia Card and Multimedia Memory Card. The shortage comes as major suppliers such as Samsung plan to reduce flash prices from about $1.50 per Mbyte to as low as $1/Mbyte in the third quarter, as part of a shift from 16- to 32-Mbit products. However, prices are not expected to rise as supplies for those parts tighten. Responding to the growing demand, Samsung has shifted some of its DRAM lines to flash work and nearly doubled its production capacity for flash. DRAM prices are again on the rise here and an LCD shortage is expected to continue well into next year despite the addition of new manufacturing capacity here, in Japan and in Taiwan. Price hikes On spot markets, prices for 64-Mbit DRAMs rose from a high of about $6.52 in late July to $7.26 in early August. Generic SDRAM prices have seen a similar increase, reaching a high of $5.79 last month. The price rise was attributed largely to speculation on the impact of the recent power outage that affected Taiwan's major fabs. Embattled Korean memory makers are taking advantage of the rise in memory prices on the spot market by hiking prices. Samsung, Hyundai Electronics and Hyundai Semiconductor are actively reviewing markups in the prices for customers on long-term contracts. Meanwhile, Asian LCD makers are beginning to add manufacturing capacity. Industry sources said Taiwanese manufacturers opened new production facilities recently as Korean and Japanese display makers increased production capacity by 30 percent. With the supply of thin-film-transistor (TFT) LCDs said to be lagging demand by 10 percent, prices are up sharply, with 12.1-inch LCDs selling for about $350, 13.3-inchers for $500 and 14.1-inch displays for $540. Taiwan's CPT Inc. began TFT LCD production in the second quarter, and other manufacturers there are expected to begin production early next year. Still, analysts said the added production capacity will do little to ease display shortages this year. No relief is in sight until mid-2000 when new production facilities come online, increasing supplies by 30 percent. eetimes.com