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Technology Stocks : SILICON STORAGE SSTI Flash Mem -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Zeev Hed who wrote (1758)	7/20/2001 10:37:46 AM
From: straight life	Respond to of 1881

8:12AM M-Systems (FLSH) 6.37: Salomon Smith Barney upgrades to OUTPERFORM from Neutral after company reports results in line with June 18th preannouncement; given reports by FLSH, SNDK, SSTI and others, believes that inventories may be firming, demand picking up, and flash prices stabilizing. briefing.com

To: Zeev Hed who wrote (1758)	7/21/2001 4:38:12 PM
From: orkrious	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1881

I just listened to the SSTI CC. I was doing other stuff, so I didn't listen that closely. Further, the CEO is tough to understand. RE the inventory, they pointed out the high level. They said it was expected to be drawn down at the foundries but they pointed out that there was a potential write down if market prices dropped. Not much was said about it. They didn't talk re write off of obsolete inventory, just prices dropping. They talked about cutting back wafer starts dramatically. It sounds like they kept building wafers too long. Of note they said they had a 2 mil ??? increase in bad debts reserve offset by a back out of a big legal accrual. Also, there were two questions about the big increase in royalties. They should stay at this level at long as flash prices stay soft. Without decreasing flash prices, these would rise. Overall, I have to say I felt more comfortable with SSTI's CC than Sandisk's. Sandisk's comments re Samsung were scary. Jonathan Joseph spent a long time asking questions searching for a bottom. I was surprised he spent the time he did with a such relatively small company.

To: Zeev Hed who wrote (1758)	7/22/2001 1:07:25 PM
From: limtex	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1881

Zeev - Well you said bottom around this time if I recall correctly. Problem as I see it now is that looks pretty clear that the recession in Europe is just starting and the reduction in expeorts i beginning to hit them hard. That is what happened in 1929-32. Looks like we are getting a re-run. I see KG posts that he lost confidence in the management. My guess is that in comon with many managements they have no ideea what is about to hit them. I figure that many still beleive that there is going to be a recovery in the near future or maybe even in 2H 02. Seems pretty clear now tha tthe chances of any recovery at all are diminshing by the day and that if anything we are about to go into the next down-leg. How many companies have you seen that if there is no pick-up in business in the next year they will start to run out of cash. Thats why you have so many managements preparing their companies for survival by conserving cash. There is no market to borrow from if you run out so what cash you have or can generate is what you have when it runs out the company is history. Cap Ex is over...dead and buried in this environment. Mr G is hopefully getting somehwere near to releasing the brakes off the economy and that might just might stop the downward slide but if he keeps the brakes on as he now is then the only direction is down. BTW I wonder how the surplus is going to work out as corporate profits evaporate and layoffs mount? If you were a corporate planner what would you do now? Would you risk your cash on the hopes of a recovery all sogns of which have proved to be mirages or would you cut back everything in sight in order to preserve cash (and your job)?. Best regards, L