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To: Madharry who wrote (8348)	9/6/2000 10:57:14 AM
From: DJBEINO	Respond to of 9582

Brooks Automation Wins Major 300mm Production Fab Software Contract at UMC CHELMSFORD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 6, 2000--Brooks Automation, Inc. (NASDAQ: BRKS - news), a leader in tool and automation solutions for the global semiconductor industry, today announced that it won a major software contract awarded by UMC for use in its newest 300mm production facility, FAB 12A in Taiwan. The UMC evaluation team selected FABworks300, which is a new solution offering containing Brooks' ``best-in-class'' software applications, pre-integrated for 300mm manufacturing. Participating with Brooks in the implementation effort are Compaq (NYSE:CPQ - news) and Synergy, a local Taiwan systems integrator. biz.yahoo.com ++++++++++++++++++++++ UMC Selects BroadVision InfoExchange Application BroadVision Delivers Personal Gateway for Customers, Partners, Employees REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 6, 2000--BroadVision (R), Inc. (Nasdaq: BVSN, Neuer Markt: BDN), a leader in personalized e-business applications, announced that UMC, a leading semiconductor foundry, selected BroadVision InfoExchange application to provide a B2E (business-to-employee) solution for integration into its corporate intranet. UMC is the one of the earliest adopters of BroadVision InfoExchange, an employee relationship management application. biz.yahoo.com

To: Madharry who wrote (8348)	9/6/2000 11:46:34 AM
From: Czechsinthemail	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 9582

Price Worries Punish Chip Stocks By Thomas Lepri Staff Reporter 9/6/00 11:10 AM ET For the second straight day, an analyst's bearish call is shaking down the volatile semiconductor market. Shares of Micron Technology (MU:NYSE - news) slid 9.7% Wednesday morning after Donaldson Lufkin & Jenrette analyst Boris Petersik downgraded the stock to underperform from buy and cut his 12-month price target to $50 from $122, citing pending price erosion in the market for DRAM. The rest of the chip sector was sagging in sympathy, with the Philadelphia Stock Exchange Semiconductor Index down 3.8%. Petersik based the call on fears of "a much-earlier-than-anticipated fall in DRAM spot prices and what we expect to be weaker contract pricing starting in the second half of September." X Marks the Spot Prices in the spot DRAM market, in which memory chips are sold for immediate delivery, rose smartly this spring before losing traction last month. Spot prices of 64-megabit DRAM (the industry benchmark) have lately been hovering between $7.50 and $8. Contract prices -- which major customers of companies like Micron pay in advance for DRAM -- have thus far been sitting between $8.25 and $8.75. "The spot market has been mixed, to be conservative," says Mark Giudici, an analyst who tracks component prices for Dataquest. "In some cases it's down, in others it's flat. It's giving mixed signals. By now, with the demand situation so strong, you'd expect spot prices to meet and go above contract prices. But that's not happening." For much of 2000, most industry analysts have been warning of a looming DRAM shortage, on the thesis that suppliers would be unable to meet market demand fully sometime late in the year. But with spot prices continuing to stay below contract prices, some, like Petersik, are beginning to question whether that demand will materialize. Expand and Contract "Although we have observed spot prices that traded below the contract rate for the past five weeks," Petersik wrote, "we discounted the weakness as result of weak low-end PC demand in Europe. It now appears that major DRAM users are starting to draw down their inventories and possibly also releasing inventories into the spot market." Some observers have theorized that companies expecting a DRAM shortage may have artificially pumped up prices earlier this year through hoarding. If that's the case, spot prices could erode further as those companies unload inventories. The debate over the semiconductor supply/demand dynamic isn't limited to commodities like DRAM. On Tuesday, U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray analyst Ashok Kumar downgraded Intel (INTC:Nasdaq - news) on the grounds that weak demand would slow growth at the microprocessor manufacturer, pushing the chip juggernaut's stock down some 5%. Billy the Kid Petersik's call comes one day after SG Cowen analyst Rick Billy started coverage of Micron with a buy and a price target of $125. He says the weakness in the spot market kept him from issuing SG Cowen's highest rating, a strong buy. But he still expects the DRAM cycle to last another 18 months, and notes that seasonally, business should be popping up for Micron, even if DRAM prices remain flat. "You don't need prices to go up," he says. "If they stay where they are now, Micron's [average selling prices] will be up 10% to 15% sequentially in the November quarter." Dataquest's Giudici, like most analysts, remains unconvinced that the weakness in the spot market signifies anything catastrophic. "Overall, the supply/demand dynamic is strong," he says. "It's like the tail wagging the dog. It's only 5% to 10% of the DRAM market, but it gets all the attention." thestreet.com