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

To: Archie Meeties who wrote (39323)	6/11/2008 6:22:23 PM
From: Return to Sender	Respond to of 95748

From Briefing.com: 4:30 pm : Wednesday was an ugly session for Wall Street, with the Dow dropping more than 200 points as financial stocks fell on renewed write-down concerns. Oil prices surged 4.0% and commodities advanced 2.7%, which fueled increased concerns over global inflation and interest rate increases. Crude oil rallied $5.33 to $137.19 per barrel, marking a year-to-date increase of 42% and a one-year gain of 107%. The government reported a larger-than-expected decrease in inventory stockpiles for the week ended June 6, which increased supply concerns. Commodities (+2.7%) as a whole spiked, with grains gaining 5.5%. Wet weather and flooding is expected to decrease crop yields. On top of supply concerns, a 0.6% slide in the dollar helped add to the buying interest in commodities. The dollar saw the bulk of its losses after a European Central Bank official noted it is ready to "step up" rates if inflation data warrants an increase. The Fed continued to hint it is likely done cutting rates, and its next move will be an increase. Specifically, Fed Reserve Vice Chairman Kohn said anchoring inflation expectations "is critical" and that the gain in oil prices is raising consumer inflation expectations. The Fed's Beige Book -- which contains anecdotal economic information from the 12 Fed districts -- expressed evidence of increased inflation. In brief, reports of higher input costs were widespread, with manufacturing firms in several districts passing along some of their higher costs to customers. Economic activity remained "generally weak in late April and May." The book did not provide any surprises, so the market had a limited reaction to the report. The fears over increased inflation and interest rates sparked a mostly broad-based sell off on Wall Street, as only sector to finish with a gain was energy (+0.8%), benefiting from the climb in crude prices. There was not much strength in other areas, with 96% of nonenergy stocks within the S&P 500 posting a loss. Oil sensitive areas were hit hard. The Dow Jones Transportation average fell 4.7%, and the Amex Airline Index fell 6.1%. Railroad transportation company Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNI 103.85, -7.71) plummeted 7% after UBS placed a short-term sell rating on the stock, noting the possibility of a profit warning or earnings miss when the company reports on July 24. Financials (-3.3%) got hammered on renewed credit market and write-down concerns. Oppenheimer analyst Meredith Whitney -- who has a history of accurate calls -- said on CNBC that she thinks future losses on banks from loans have the potential to be greater than losses from collaterized debt obligations in the first quarter. She added that she feels dividends at all banks are in question. Lehman Brothers (LEH 23.75, -3.75) -- the focal point during the stock market's recent weakness -- fell 14%. The stock was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Merrill -- just one week after Merrill upgraded the name. In corporate news, Staples (SPLS 24.39, +1.25) was one of the few retailers to post a gain. Investors were pleased to hear Dutch office supply company Corporate Express accepted the latest buyout offer from Staples, worth $4.8 billion at current exchange rates.DJ30 -205.99 NASDAQ -54.93 NQ100 -2.4% R2K -2.0% SP400 -1.8% SP500 -22.95 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 2217/658/2.10 bln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 2577/589/1.39 bln 8:30AM Diodes increases Q2 guidance, sees Q2 revs $114-117 mln, up from previous guidance of $100-106 mln, vs $104.27 mln First Call consensus (DIOD) 27.50 : Co increases its guidance for Q2 of 2008. Effective June 9, 2008, the co completed the acquisition of Zetex and as a result, will include one month of Zetex's financial results in the second quarter of 2008. With Zetex's one month of revenue projected to be $11-13 mln, the co now expects second quarter 2008 revenue to be in the range of $114-117 mln compared to the prior guidance of $100-106 mln, which excluded Zetex. In terms of gross profit, the co now expects a sequential increase of 18-21% compared to the prior guidance of a sequential 4-9% increase. 09:37 am Skyworks: . Target $11 to $13. Oppenheimer says channel checks continue to suggest strong demand for SWKS in the June quarter. Outside of strong demand and share gains from the usual suspects (RIMM, Samsung, LG and Nokia), the firm has learned of strong demand and share gains at Mediatek, potentially putting it close to the 10% of revenue threshold despite its recent mixed performance. Firm raises their estimates for the June quarter to $0.18 vs. consensus of $0.17. Firm also raises their tgt to $13 from $11.