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Technology Stocks : Lam Research (LRCX, NASDAQ): To the Insiders -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Ian@SI who wrote (4723)	10/18/2001 9:54:52 AM
From: Proud_Infidel	Respond to of 5867

DRAM makers face consolidation amid 67% drop in market for 2001, says Dataquest Semiconductor Business News (10/17/01 21:38 p.m. EST) TOKYO -- Worldwide DRAM revenues are projected to decline by 67% in 2001 and an additional 19% in 2002--a trend that could accelerate the consolidation in this troubled memory industry, according to a new forecast from Dataquest Inc. here today. Worldwide DRAM sales are on pace to reach $10.5 billion in 2001, compared to $31.5 billion in 2000. In 2002, DRAM revenue is expected to reach only $8.5 billion, according to Dataquest of San Jose. This is a stark contrast to 1995, when the DRAM industry peaked with revenue of $41.8 billion, the market research firm said. "The omens are bad for the DRAM industry next year," said Andrew Norwood, who tracks the industry for Dataquest. "All DRAM companies are now losing money and will do so until the fourth quarter of 2002. Some vendors may not even survive thatlong." And it gets worse. "In the last few months, some companies have announced small production cutbacks, but we had hoped to see substantial cuts by the major companies," Norwood said. "No company wants to take the initiative for the fear of losing market share--so now they are all going to suffer in 2002." Some companies are already on life-support systems. For example, Korea's Hynix Semiconductor Inc. is being kept afloat by its creditors in the hope that the market will recover in 2002. Other companies, including Korea's Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., are in a stronger position because of their dominance in the market. Still others, including Toshiba Corp. of Japan, are looking at how to exit the DRAM business. "Toshiba of Japan is investigating a possible memory joint venture with Infineon," Norwood said. "When the market recovers, we may find that there are only four major DRAM players and not the current six," he said. "It's not too late for a possible upside to 2002, but it will be consolidation that makes this happen. If we saw a major manufacturer go under, things would change fast," Norwood said. "Then we could see market revenue grow significantly in 2002." While the DRAM industry struggles, there is good news for PC companies. "Today you can buy 256-megabytes of memory for under $30 compared to $230 12 months ago," Norwood said. "With DRAM prices now well under the costs of production, end users are getting something for nothing. It is as if the DRAM companies are unwillingly subsidizing every PC sold by more than $40," he said.

To: Ian@SI who wrote (4723)	10/23/2001 8:15:27 AM
From: Proud_Infidel	Respond to of 5867

Winbond Electronics to Shift Focus to Niche ICs and Away from DRAMs October 23, 2001 (TAIPEI) -- Winbond Electronics Corp. is considering gradually exiting the unprofitable DRAM microchip business, and moving into niche-based memory chips and system-on-a-chip (SOC) devices. This is in part due to the bleak outlook of Toshiba, Winbond's source of technology transfer, in the memory chip-making business, A merger between Infineon Technologies AG and the memory chip division of Toshiba Corp.'s second largest semiconductor unit is likely to be finalized soon. The global price of 128Mb SDRAM is on the verge of falling below US$1. Nanya Technology Corp. has been forced to cut half its SDRAM production beginning from October, and to shift its effort to the production of high-priced DDR DRAM chips. Following Winbond's decision to lower its DRAM output, Vanguard International Semiconductor Corp. (VISC) and Powerchip Semiconductor Corp. have switched part of their capacities to provide contract-manufacturing services. Vanguard aims to gradually transform itself into a memory chip contract maker. The company plans to enrich its products by introducing flash memory chips and low-power SDRAM chips in the fourth quarter. "With such a sluggish economy, the more DRAM chips we sell the more losses we will incur. However, the last thing we can do is to just sit idly by and accept what will happen," said Winbond's chairman. At its first performance presentation to institutional investors this year, Winbond hinted it would scale up the weight of logic chip production. Winbond will likely use its core technologies to develop logic chips and memory chips to seek new opportunities in the SOC industry. Related story: Japan Falls Below 20 Pct. in World DRAM Production: IDC Survey (Commercial Times, Taiwan)

To: Ian@SI who wrote (4723)	10/24/2001 12:39:57 PM
From: Proud_Infidel	Respond to of 5867

Wed Oct 24 LRCX Lam Research upgraded by Tucker Anthny Sutro - Briefing.com

To: Ian@SI who wrote (4723)	11/7/2001 3:38:38 PM
From: Proud_Infidel	Respond to of 5867

Lam Research Corporation Announces Live Webcasts of Upcoming Investor Conferences FREMONT, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 7, 2001--Lam Research Corporation (Nasdaq: LRCX - news), Fremont, Calif., today announced availability of the following presentations via webcast or link from Lam's web site: November 8, 2001--Annual Shareholder Meeting, Fremont, CA, 11:00 a.m. PST. November 13, 2001--DB Alex Brown 2001 Technology Conference, Baltimore, MD, 9:30 a.m. EST. November 13, 2001--SoundView Technology Outlook Conference, Boca Raton, FL, 10:00 a.m. EST. November 28, 2001--CS First Boston Annual Technology Conference, Phoenix, AZ, 9:00 a.m. PST. The live webcast can be accessed from the Lam web site at www.lamrc.com. A replay of each webcast will be available for one week. Please visit Lam's web site for the latest presentation schedule and updates. Lam Research Corporation is a leading supplier of wafer fabrication equipment and services to the world's semiconductor industry. Lam's common stock trades on the Nasdaq National Market under the symbol LRCX. The Company's World Wide Web address is lamrc.com.