Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

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

To: Katherine Derbyshire who wrote (48885)	7/9/2001 8:43:14 AM
From: michael97123	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 70976

Katherine, RedSox 1.5 out at the break. I hope they can hang in until Pedro gets back???? Mike

To: Katherine Derbyshire who wrote (48885)	7/9/2001 9:46:52 AM
From: Proud_Infidel	Respond to of 70976

Taiwan June tech sales slump, caution over 3Q looms By Baker Li TAIPEI, July 9 (Reuters) - Taiwan's elite technology firms turned in predominantly weak June sales on Monday, prompting investors and analysts to push back expectations that business would bottom out before an Autumn back-to-school buying spree. While Taiwan's downstream customers -- brand names like Compaq (NYSE:CPQ - news) and Dell (NasdaqNM:DELL - news) -- have largely cleared out personal computer inventories that had piled up since late 2000, analysts said they saw no strong demand waiting in the wings. ``The industry is near the bottom but we still dare not say it has hit the bottom,'' said Thomas Lin, fund manager for Jih Sun Securities Investment Trust's T$1.6 billion ($46 million) Jih Sun Fund. ``Demand often picks up from the third quarter but we are worried whether it will happen this year,'' he said. Taiwan's top personal computer maker, Acer Inc , said on Monday June sales fell to T$6.076 billion, down 35.37 percent from June 2000, and also showed no rebound from May's T$6.71 billion. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) (NYSE:TSM - news), the world's largest contract chipmaker, said on Monday it made sales of T$8.515 billion in June, down 29.1 percent from the same month last year and off T$8.551 billion in May. The June revenue figure, which analysts said was worse than expected, was down 33.5 percent from the first quarter's T$39.52 billion, and below the company's forecast of a 26 percent quarter-on-quarter slide. TSMC's arch rival, United Microelectronics Corp (UMC) (NYSE:UMC - news), said on Monday June sales fell 51.95 percent to T$4.236 billion from the same month last year, in line with the market's low expectations and company forecasts. Most of the top firms released June sales results after close of stock market trade in Taipei. TSMC shares shed T$2.00 or 3.2 percent at T$61.00 on Monday and UMC shares finished down T$2.70 or 6.2 percent at T$41.20, hurt by a steep fall in the U.S. Philadelphia semiconductor index (^SOXX - news) on Friday. Acer was unchanged at T$22.00, while the TAIEX (^TWII - news) share index fell 1.06 percent. WEAK THIRD QUARTER SEEN ``Sales at both TSMC and UMC were lower than expected. Judging from these figures, the speed of recovery in the semiconductor industry is slower than we had expected,'' said SG Securities semiconductor analyst Connor Liu. ``The key point is whether the PC demand is gathering momentum, which we haven't seen yet,'' he added. Worldwide sales of semiconductors fell more than 30 percent in May from a year ago, the steepest such drop in more than 15 years, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association. Since late last year, chip makers have suffered as demand for computers, mobile telephones and other electronics has dwindled, leaving products sitting on warehouse shelves. ``The third quarter will likely be worse than the second quarter, the production utilisation rate of the two large foundries won't be good in the coming quarter,'' Liu said, pointing to TSMC and UMC. Makers of dynamic random access memory (DRAM), the most common form of PC memory, also saw their sales figures plumb new depths as spot prices languished below many firms' break-even price in June. DRAM maker Winbond Electronics said June sales fell 59.85 percent from a year ago, while competitor Mosel Vitelic saw June sales drop 78 percent year-on-year. Powerchip , the only Taiwan DRAM firm to make a profit in the first quarter, saw June sales slump 46.42 percent from the same month in 2000, citing 64-megabit DRAM prices that were less than one-sixth of last year's levels. However, makers of optical discs such as compact discs and digital versatile discs appeared to see light at the end of the tunnel. CMC Magnetics Corp , said on Friday that unaudited June sales rose to a monthly record high of T$1.64 billion, which was up 36 percent from June last year because of increasing product prices due in part to plant closures by smaller players. Rival Ritek Inc said on Monday it made sales of T$2.065 billion in June, up 1.16 percent from the same month a year earlier and higher than T$1.91 billion in May.

To: Katherine Derbyshire who wrote (48885)	7/10/2001 8:10:29 AM
From: John Trader	Respond to of 70976

Katherine, I am probably too biased on this issue. I am someone who would never want to go back to the pre-internet world. Big houses don't impress me. Things like freedom, efficiency, and networking does. Technology improves things in these areas, IMHO. Maybe I am out of touch with "Joe Sixpack" and Jane who watches the soap operas. I think recent advancements in technology are fantastic, and it has changed my life a lot. I guess we will have to wait to find out where the average person will spend their money. John