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Technology Stocks : Semi Equipment Analysis -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Donald Wennerstrom who wrote (15050)	5/9/2004 1:05:57 AM
From: Donald Wennerstrom	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 95889

CEO's have gotten a big dose of confidence. businessweek.com <<CEOs: Rush Of Confidence Chief execs are back in a betting mood, buoyed by rising sales and renewed pricing power. [snip] <<PARTY TIME. Not anymore. From high-tech powerhouses and Wall Street brokerages to manufacturers in the industrial heartland, companies across Corporate America are cheering their brightening prospects. Thanks to super-easy monetary and fiscal policies, demand for their products and services is soaring. Government data due out on Apr. 29 were expected to show that the economy grew at roughly a 5% annual clip in the first quarter, after expanding at about a 6% rate in the second half of last year.>> [snip] <<STRAIGHT TO TECH. Brisk corporate spending stretches from small to large companies and across industrial sectors. Indeed, despite capacity utilization rates that remain low, many companies that are keen to modernize are leapfrogging old technology to meet lively demand. Owens Corning, a Toledo maker of insulation products used in housing, is spending $30 million to expand capacity 25% at a 39-year-old Jackson (Tenn.) plant that makes fiberglass for roofing shingles. And even as older jets languish in mothballs, low-cost AirTran Airways Inc. (AAI ) is buying new Boeing 737s that are more efficient than its current 717s. As companies open their wallets, much of the cash is flowing straight to the tech sector. Tech shipments, which have been accelerating for three months, grew 16.5% in March from a year ago, according to Merrill Lynch & Co. (MER ). Meanwhile, inventories continue to decline, boding well for new orders in coming months. The uptick has bolstered the chip industry: Global sales in February jumped nearly 31% from a year ago, according to the latest data from the Semiconductor Industry Assn. -- the largest rise since October, 2000. And computers are gaining momentum, too: Hardware shipments have topped 20% growth in four of the past five months.>> [snip]