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Technology Stocks : Genesis Microchip (GNSS) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: GP Kavanaugh who wrote (408)	9/21/1999 4:04:00 PM
From: don jackson	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1277

GP, thanks for the detailed information. The only other thing I've seen so far is a brief note posted on CNNfn that I've pasted below. Might be interesting to see how this shakes out over the next few days as more information is made available. NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Tuesday's massive earthquake in Taiwan could at least temporarily impede the ability of U.S. computer companies to assemble and ship their products, possibly driving up prices just prior to the holiday season, analysts said. While most firms cautioned it is much too early to measure the quake's impact on their supply chains, analysts said Tuesday that early reports indicated the semiconductor chip sector could see a significant slowdown in production anywhere from one week to a month. That could prove particularly troublesome for computer manufacturers, whose high-turnover supply chain generally results in only a small backlog of available products. Currently, about two-thirds of the world's integrated chips are assembled in Taiwan, while three out of every four companies relying on outside manufacturers utilize Taiwanese chip makers, according to industry estimates. "It's not a non-event," said David Wu, an analyst with ABN Amro in San Francisco. "The whole PC supply chain is so tight, there really is no excess supply. Whenever there's a hiccup like this, there's no cushion to fall back on." "All of those foundries were running at capacity in the beginning of a real upsurge in the semi-conductor cycle, so I would expect it to have some impact," agreed Christopher Davis, a portfolio manager for Davis Selected Advisors. Two largest chip makers unscathed Still, while they acknowledged analysts' fears, industry officials said any disruption would be little more than a minor glitch in the supply chain. By late Tuesday, Taiwan's two largest chip makers -- Taiwan Semiconductor and United Microelectronics Corp. -- were reporting little structural damage to their facilities or the products inside. Jodi Schelton, executive director of the Fabless Semiconductor Association, an organization representing chip makers unaffiliated with specific computer manufacturers, said the biggest problem for those companies right now is the lack of electricity. "At the moment, I'm thinking the worst case scenario is these factories are down for about a week," she said. Analysts are slightly more cautious. They note demand for semiconductor chips has been so high recently that manufacturers haven't been able to keep up, raising concerns that even a couple of weeks of disruption could influence prices. "Near-term, I wouldn't look for it to impact the consumer too much," said Wendy Ambramowitz, a semiconductor analyst with Argus Research in New York. "But there could be some moderate price swings" if the facilities stay off-line for too long.