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To: yard_man who wrote (244917)	6/10/2003 5:15:44 PM
From: patron_anejo_por_favor	Read Replies (4) \| Respond to of 436258

Hmmm, someone at TXN musta reached for the glue bong but picked up the truth serum syringe by accident!<G> Blaming SARS again? Isn't that starting to wear a bit thin? newsalert.com Texas Instruments Incorporated (NYSE: TXN) today said that its sequential revenue growth in the second quarter will be at the lower end of its previous expectations due to reduced sales of semiconductors to wireless customers. Wireless customers are experiencing a slowdown in demand for handsets and excess inventory, particularly in Asia. Demand for TI's semiconductor products in other markets continues to be robust. As a result, TI now expects total sequential revenue growth of about 5 percent, instead of its original forecast of about 7 percent. Inside the total, TI's semiconductor segment now expects sequential growth of about 2 percent instead of about 4 percent. The company's other business segments, Sensors & Controls and Educational & Productivity Solutions, remain on track to meet original expectations. TI expects wireless semiconductor revenue to decline about 10 percent sequentially in the second quarter and other semiconductor revenue to increase by more than 5 percent. Compared with the second quarter of 2002, wireless revenue should increase by more than 10 percent and other semiconductor revenue should increase by more than 5 percent. Earnings per share are now expected to be about $0.06, plus or minus a few cents, instead of about $0.08, plus or minus a few cents. The expected reduction in earnings is due about equally to lower revenue and higher charges associated with restructuring in certain of the company's manufacturing facilities. The company recently expanded its previously-announced restructuring actions to include the reduction of about 250 jobs in Semiconductor manufacturing operations in Japan. Total restructuring charges for the quarter are now expected to be about $55 million instead of $40 million, primarily due to higher-than-expected severance costs in the current quarter and the addition of the action in Japan. "As we noted in our April conference call, some inventory of wireless semiconductors was built in Asian markets, particularly China, toward the end of the first quarter. That inventory, which would have been successfully worked through under normal conditions, instead stalled as demand has weakened in those markets. We believe the weakness in demand is largely due to the ongoing economic impact associated with SARS, and should abate as the health concerns are resolved," said Tom Engibous, TI Chairman, President and CEO.

To: yard_man who wrote (244917)	6/10/2003 5:25:18 PM
From: patron_anejo_por_favor	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 436258

Deflation ROCKS!<G> usatoday.com Electricity costs near 20-year highs By Barbara Hagenbaugh, USA TODAY WASHINGTON — U.S. air conditioning bills might bulge this summer as electricity prices are projected to rise to their highest level in at least two decades. An especially hot season likely would result in even bigger price increases. That could sap spending in the broad economy and produce a ripple effect in hiring as consumers and business owners try to offset the gains. Such fallout would be bad timing for a shaky economy that is showing signs of stabilizing. Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan predicted tight supplies of natural gas and high prices for a prolonged period Tuesday, largely because the U.S. market is unable to draw on world gas supplies easily. "We are not apt to return to earlier periods of relative abundance and low prices anytime soon," Greenspan said in testimony at a congressional hearing. He noted that the markets are anticipating natural gas prices of more than $6 per one million British thermal units (Btu) well into next year. (Related story: Greenspan testifies before House Energy and Commerce Committee) Assuming "normal" weather conditions, retail electricity prices on average nationwide will rise approximately 4% to top 9 cents per kilowatt hour in July, August and September, the Energy Department's Energy Information Administration predicted in a report released Friday. That would top prices for every summer since at least 1983, when the EIA began tracking electricity prices. Although there will likely be big differences among regions, the price gain would bring the average household air conditioning bill to more than $150 this year, up about $5 from 2002. That's based on how much electricity households used in 1997, the most recent statistics, and doesn't include other electricity costs, such as appliance use. Above-average temperatures, which have been seen in some parts of the country already, could lead to significantly higher gains. The expected price increase is partly attributed to elevated natural gas prices, which have climbed as inventories have fallen to 29% below the five-year average. Natural gas is the third-biggest source of electricity generation after coal and nuclear power. More than half of U.S. households are heated with natural gas, and supplies were sapped this winter as temperatures plunged. Inventories are also falling as production