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To: Les H who wrote (104242)	5/23/2001 1:50:37 PM
From: Les H	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 436258

Semiconductor Equipment Update M O'Brien SEMI reported April book-to-bill of 0.42, the lowest ratio on record since SEMI started publishing it in January 1991.The book-to-bill (B2B) ratio for the North American-based semiconductor capital equipment vendors came in at 0.42 for April 2001. This was the lowest ratio on record since SEMI started to publish it in January 1991.Book-to-bill for the front end and back end were relatively the same (0.43 and 0.41), suggesting that the front end has finally caught up with the back end in terms of severity of this cycle. The reported April front-end booking is now 76% below the peak $2,479 million reported for October 2000. The reported April back-end booking is now 85% below the peak of $766 million reported for May 2000. Additionally, with the lack of solid and realistic demand from end-markets (despite a stabilizing PC market), we find it hard to believe that IDMs and foundries are going to rush back to the equipment market to place "huge" orders anytime soon. We continue to reiterate our contracted "U"-shape recovery and continue to warn investors of the inherent risks associated with equipment stocks at current levels.