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To: BirdDog who wrote (45902)	1/7/2002 8:56:37 PM
From: Dealer	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 65232

Ford prepares to lay off thousands By August Cole, CBS.MarketWatch.com Last Update: 4:52 PM ET Jan. 7, 2002 DETROIT (CBS.MW) - Ford Motor Co. is preparing a major restructuring to be announced Friday that could lead to as many as 20,000 job cuts, as the second-largest U.S. automaker struggles to turn a profit in 2002 amid declining margins and a weak economy. Ford President Nick Scheele declined to comment Monday on a report in the Financial Times newspaper that said up to 20,000 jobs will be slashed, though he did say that nation's second-largest automaker needs to match its production capabilities with expected demand for the rest of this year. About 8,000 of the jobs would be white collar and the rest hourly workers, according to the newspaper. "We'll do what's right, first and last," Scheele said during a briefing in Detroit at the North American International Auto Show. The restructuring, which is expected to be severe, comes as U.S. auto dealers face a squeeze on profit margins following an unprecedented autumn of steep discounts and deals to sell cars after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Dearborn, Mich.-based Ford (F: news, chart, profile) is set to report its third consecutive quarter of losses on Jan. 14 as the industry just closed out what looks to have been it's second-best year ever. The company, which is now headed by heir Bill Ford Jr. with Scheele in the No. 2 spot, said Dec. 5 that it expects a 50-cent per-share loss. During the prior quarter, the company lost 28 cents a share. Ford has yet to formulate its buyer incentive structure for 2002. General Motors (GM: news, chart, profile), which set off the last round of zero-percent financing after Sept. 11, has already said it will offer a $2,002 discount on its new vehicles. Scheele noted that the true cost of such a program is difficult to calculate when each manufacturer has a different portfolio of loans and credit losses. "Market share is not the only goal. It has to be profitable market share," he said. Ford shares closed down 44 cents at $16.50. August Cole is spot news editor at CBS.MarketWatch.com in Chicago

To: BirdDog who wrote (45902)	1/7/2002 10:50:51 PM
From: stockman_scott	Respond to of 65232

U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray Analyst Sees Early Stages of Cyclical Recovery In Semiconductor Capital Equipment Spending January 07, 2002 10:40:00 (ET) MINNEAPOLIS, Jan 7, 2002 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray Senior Optical and Electronic Manufacturing Technologies Analyst Greg Konezny today upgraded the following semiconductor equipment companies from Outperform to Strong Buy: Applied Materials (AMAT--$45.22), Coherent (COHR--$32.60), Entegris (ENTG--$12.47), Newport Corporation NASDAQ: NEWP--$23.96, #^) and Vecco Instruments (VECO--$38.10). Additionally, Konezny upgraded KLA Tencor (KLAC--$55.49) and Teradyne (TER--$33.78) from Market Perform to Outperform. Konezny upgrades these companies based on proprietary research, which suggests that the semiconductor capital equipment market is in the early stages of a cyclical recovery and could extend over the next couple of years. These indicators include: 1) improving health of semiconductor device manufacturers, and 2) recent reports from equipment companies that quotation and order activity is improving. "We expect the under-investment in integrated circuit (IC) manufacturing technology over the last six months will soon reverse and return to more normalized levels over the next 18 to 24 months," said Konezny. "Therefore, we expect equipment order rates will begin to recover during the first half of 2002, with expectations of acceleration during the second half of the year and into 2003." Konezny's new ratings are based on the potential earnings power of each equipment company during the next expected peak in equipment sales during 2004. He believes these stocks can achieve peak earnings multiples of 20 times to 25 times, based on historical forward valuation multiple data. "Based on our analysis, there appears to be more upside opportunity with the mid-capitalization names under coverage," said Konezny. "Our current favorites going into the next cycle include AMAT, COHR and NEWP." Additionally, Konezny believes that continued adherence to Moore's Law, which states that the number of electronic components that can be manufactured on a device doubles every 18 months, could drive the capital spending ratio back to historical levels. "Maintaining the technology roadmap that supports Moore's Law is getting more and more challenging and is driving IC manufacturers to invest more dollars in technology that supports smaller geometries, new materials and an increase in wafer size to 300mm," said Konezny. "This should be a significant factor in driving the capital spending ratio of device manufacturers back above 20 percent, from below 10 percent currently."