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

To: Jacob Snyder who wrote (54094)	10/12/2001 2:26:14 PM
From: michael97123	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 70976

Memories of nasdaq 5000 Friday October 12, 2:19 pm Eastern Time Nigerian bourse hit all-time high, Wapco leads LAGOS, Oct 12 (Reuters) - The Nigerian Stock Exchange hit an all-time high Friday after nine straight sessions of gains. The All-Share Index rose 98.58 points to close at 11,175.89, beating the previous peak of 11,099.33 recorded on June 27. The session's biggest gainers were West African Portland Cement Co. (Wapco) and the market's most capitalised, Nigerian Breweries Plc , luring reluctant sellers that were also interested in capital gains. ``Everyone is conscious of the growth potential of the market and the possibility of making more gains on their investment, and they will not want to be rushed into selling,'' Sehinde Adenagbe, a dealer at Midas Securities, said. Wapco rose 4.9 percent to close at 29.92 naira, while Nigerian Breweries gained 2.2 percent at 35.50. Unilever Nigeria jumped 4.2 percent to close at 27.41 naira. First Bank of Nigeria and PZ Industries were the hardest hit of the decliners. First Bank lost 4.5 percent to close at 24.10 naira, and PZ Industries dropped 3.8 percent to 12.02 naira. Volume dipped, with 18.20 million shares worth 206.24 million naira ($1.85 million) traded in 1,857 deals. In the previous session, 29 million shares valued at 553.9 million naira ($4.96 million) changed hands in 1,992 deals on Thursday. The market's capitalisation closed at 660.74 billion naira ($5.92 billion) compared with last session's 654.91 billion naira ($5.87 billion). ($1 equals 111.60 naira)

To: Jacob Snyder who wrote (54094)	10/12/2001 3:49:41 PM
From: Proud_Infidel	Respond to of 70976

Chip-equipment consolidation is healthy for chip industry, claims ASML's CEO By Mark LaPedus Semiconductor Business News (10/12/01 15:40 p.m. EST) SAN JOSE -- The ongoing consolidation in the semiconductor-equipment market has worried many vendors and their chip customers. But the shakeout will actually benefit the industry, propelling a stronger collection of suppliers and products in the market, according to the top executive at ASML Lithography. "Consolidation within our industry will become more and more of a factor," said Doug Dunn, president and CEO of ASML, in a presentation at the International Symposium on Semiconductor Manufacturing (ISSM) conference here earlier this week. "Consolidation leads to stronger players in the market," Dunn said during the presentation. "Competition in the market also leads to stronger products," he said. The ASML executive attempted to prove--if not justify--his case in the lithography market. ASML, based in Veldhoven, the Netherlands, earlier this year acquired Silicon Valley Group Inc., a supplier of scanners, track systems and other tools, for $1.6 billion. In 1984, there were eight or nine lithography-tool vendors chasing after a market worth an estimated $550 million, he said. Now, there are only three major lithography-tool players going after a market that is estimated to hit $4.8 billion in 2001, he said. So, in many respects, the current lithography market is healthier. "Fierce competition means the strong will survive," he said. But fewer competitors is "better than having eight guys slugging it out in the market," the ASML executive said. There are also benefits of consolidation, notably the ability to pool R&D dollars. In 1984, for example, ASML rolled out its first lithography tool, which cost a total of some $50 million to develop. In comparison, the company's existing 200/300-mm tool--the TwinScan--cost some $500 million to develop. "The cost to develop EUV will be $1 billion dollars," he said, referring to next-generation lithography (NGL) tools, based on extreme ultraviolet (EUV) technology. "Each round of tools doubles [in terms of development costs]," he said. "So cooperation is also necessary." ASML is expected to sell a EUV tool by the middle of decade. The EUV tool is being developed by a U.S.-led consortium, which consists of Advanced Micro Devices, IBM, Infineon, Intel, Micron, Motorola, and U.S. national laboratories.