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Technology Stocks : Applied Materials No-Politics Thread (AMAT) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: matt dillabough who wrote (14934)	5/12/2005 9:04:00 AM
From: Proud_Infidel	Respond to of 25522

Retail Sales Strong, Jobless Claims Up Thursday May 12, 8:43 am ET By Martin Crutsinger, AP Economics Writer Retail Sales Leap by 1.4 Percent in April, the Strongest Gain in Six Months; Jobless Claims Up WASHINGTON (AP) -- Retail sales jumped 1.4 percent in April, the strongest showing in six months, as consumers streamed back into auto showrooms and shopping malls, the Commerce Department reported Thursday. Last month's increase was far better than the 0.8 percent gain many analysts had been expecting and represented a significant rebound from the lackluster 0.4 percent increase in March. The spending surge was led by a 2.5 percent jump in auto sales. But the strength was widespread with clothing stores posting their best increase in 2 1/2 years. The sales report was more evidence that a dip in economic activity in March was just temporary. In a second report, the number of U.S. workers filing new claims for unemployment benefits rose by 4,000 to 340,000 last week, the highest level for jobless claims in a month. The four-week moving average for claims also rose by 2,000 to 324,000. Even with the increases, the claims numbers remained at levels indicating the labor market was continuing to improve, analysts said. The 2.5 percent increase in auto sales in April followed a 0.8 percent rise in March and was the best showing since a 4.2 percent surge in December, a month when dealers offered attractive end-of-the-year incentives in an effort to clear out a backlog of unsold cars. But even excluding autos, consumer demand was strong last month, rising by 1.1 percent, far above the tiny 0.2 percent March increase in retail sales excluding autos. The strong April increase in retail sales came after a number of reports had given indications that the economy slowed significantly in March, raising worries that the country might be on the verge of another "soft patch" as a sharp jump in energy prices caused consumers and businesses to grow more cautious. However, the April jump in retail sales is evidence that the March slowdown was a temporary aberration and not the start of an extended period of weakness. The government reported last week that businesses hired a better-than-expected 274,000 workers last month. Analysts said with employment rising, consumers will be able to keep spending in the months ahead. Consumer spending is closely watched because it accounts for two-thirds of total economic activity. For April, sales at clothing stores rose 2.8 percent after having fallen by 2.2 percent in March. It was the biggest increase since a 5.2 percent surge in October 2002. Sales at department stores rose 1.3 percent following a 2 percent decline in March. Also enjoying sales gains were hardware stores, up 1.2 percent, health care stores, up 0.7 percent, and gasoline service stations, up 1.9 percent, a gain that primarily reflected higher gasoline prices. Appliance and electronic stores saw a 0.1 percent drop in sales and sales were down 0.3 percent at sporting goods, hobby, book and music stores. Restaurants and bars saw a 0.9 percent increase in sales while grocery stores saw sales increase 0.6 percent.

To: matt dillabough who wrote (14934)	5/12/2005 9:38:02 AM
From: Proud_Infidel	Respond to of 25522

Renesas expecting tough fiscal 2005 Yoshiko Hara EE Times (05/11/2005 9:51 PM EDT) TOKYO — Renesas Technology said its annual sales barely beat its ¥1 trillion forecast for its latest fiscal year. For its new fiscal year beginning in April, Renesas projected a 3-percent drop in sales and a whopping 60- percent decline in its operating profit. The chip maker forecast that the global semiconductor market, excluding DRAMs, would shrink by 3 percent to about $185 billion in fiscal 2005 from the previous-year level of about $191 billion. "The market will grow on a volume basis, but quite severe on a value basis," said Satoru Ito, president and CEO of Renesas. While some analysts project the IC market will decline further in 2006, Renesas said it expects the market to bottom out by this fall and grow in 2006. With the market projected to shrink and price erosion continuing, Renesas said it expected a sales decline of 3.2 percent to about $9.2 billion, with operating profits dropping by 60.9 percent to $190 million over the previous year. Renesas added that it expects the first half of its fiscal year to be especially harsh, with almost no operating profit. It expects to make most of its operating profit of ¥20 billion (about $190 million) in the second half. "We are going to end this term in the black," said Ito. Renesas is the top supplier of microcontrollers, with a 22- percent market share in 2004, according to marktet researchers Gartner. Positioning the MCU business as its mainstay, Renesas said intends to reinforce its flash business by focusing on 4-Gbit devices based on a 90-nm process introduced this year. Renesas also said it plans to invest a total of ¥80 billion (about $760 million) in facilities during the current fiscal year.