Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Technology Stocks : C-Cube -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Thomas J. Smith who wrote (25812)	11/27/1997 1:27:00 PM
From: CPAMarty	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 50808

Is the Wall St. article you are referring to the one below? I just checked and this is the only story of its type at www.wsj.com The Last paragraphs of this article indicate that yesterday's 3 point drop was the result of a panic. I think Friday will be an up day. C-Cube Stk Off 13%; China Sales, Technical Downgrade Cited By JANET MORRISSEY Dow Jones Newswires NEW YORK -- C-Cube Microsystems Inc. (CUBE) stock fell 13% Wednesday as Wall Street appeared to respond to concerns about sales in China, an analyst's technical downgrade and a Sony Corp. (SNE) unit's planned introduction of a new encoder device. The shares closed at 20, off 3 or 13%, on volume of 2.8 million shares, compared with average daily volume of 1.3 million. The Milpitas, Calif. maker of video decoder chips relies on the Far East for 40% to 45% of its total revenue, and analysts think the company might therefore be more susceptible to the ups and downs of the Chinese economy than other semiconductor companies. Concerns are currently reverberating through the investment community about lower-than-anticipated sales of consumer electronics in China this quarter and a price war heating up in that country on digital video chip technology. "Consumer electronics sales have not taken off the way they were expected," said C.E. Unterberg Towbin analyst Tejinder Singh. But he said it's too early to tell if the sluggishness will continue through the selling period leading up to China's New Year in February, which is traditionally the country's strongest sales season, Another analyst, Steven Frenkel of Paragon Capital Corp., said he, too, heard talk of a price war heating up in China, but he concurred that it's premature to project its impact, if any, on C-Cube's financial results for the fourth quarter. One analyst, Ken Tower of UST Securities Corp., downgraded C-Cube to sell from hold based solely on the supply-demand ratio for the company's stock. It reflects technical chart analysis, not company fundamentals, Tower said. The analyst said the adjustment was made after the company's share price began falling after climbing steadily to 31 in August. Since that time, the stock has fluctuated - reaching as high as 35 in October and dropping to as low as 19 3/4 Wednesday. Fueling investor concerns further was Sony Semiconductor's recent news that it plans to introduce its first single chip encoder - the CXD1922 - in the first quarter, which would compete with C-Cube technology. C-Cube Chief Financial Officer John Hagedorn agreed the sales and pricing concerns in China as well as the technical downgrade were probably responsible for the stock's decline. But Hagedorn dismissed suggestions that Sony's new chip could pose a competitive threat to his company's product. "Most customers (for the chip) are competitors of Sony," he said, "and I can't see Panasonic and Toshiba buying from their competitors." Hagedorn said he has not yet noticed any unexpected sales declines in China. He said October sales were on track and he said it's too soon to project C-Cube's total sales for the fourth quarter. Although Hagedorn acknowledged price declines in the current quarter, he said he remains comfortable with analysts estimates. A consensus of six analysts surveyed by First Call estimate C-Cube's fourth-quarter earnings at 28 cents a share. -By Janet Morrissey; 201-938-5400 ------------------------------------------------------------------------

To: Thomas J. Smith who wrote (25812)	11/27/1997 5:40:00 PM
From: John Rieman	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 50808

China is uneffected by the Asian Crisis. This is dated 11/13/97.......................................... insidechina.com Prime Minister Li Says Economy Healthy, No Effect From Asia Turmoil <Picture: lipeng09.gif>TOKYO -- Chinese Prime Minister Li Peng (pictured) said on Thursday that China has not been affected by the market turmoil rocking much of the rest of Asia and said he is confident of the steady growth of the Chinese economy. "The current fiscal woes that originated in Southeast Asia have affected many regions of the world, but not China," Li told Japanese business leaders in Tokyo on the third day of his six-day visit to Japan. Backing up his optimistic assessment, customs data showed China's trade surplus in the first ten months of this year surged to $35.5 billion from $11.9 billion a year earlier. The surplus is swelling China's foreign exchange reserves and underpinning its currency. China's Big Four commercial banks are plagued by bad debt piled up by ailing state companies, and other non-bank financial institutions are overextended and in trouble. But Li boasted that China stood apart from the Asian financial crisis. "The exchange rate of the Renminbi Yuan and the U.S. dollar has been stable at 8.3 to one." Chinese financial analysts said Asia's crisis had further convinced China that a go-slow approach to currency liberalization was vital. "China will move cautiously on allowing convertibility of the yuan on the capital account," said Hu Zhuangjun, a senior economist with the State Council. "It is not worried about the movement of capital in and out of the country by itself but it is concerned over potential disruption," he said in a reference to speculative trades. China has freed up convertibility on the current account for trade purposes. (Reuters)