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Non-Tech : Kirk's Market Thoughts -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Gottfried who wrote (1425)	6/17/2014 7:17:22 AM
From: Jerome	1 Recommendation Recommended By Gottfried Respond to of 26536

Hi Gottfried, I think this discussion is about two distinctly different creatures. A Trust and An ETF are usually used in different ways. If Capital appreciation is required to get a a portfolio to a specified level an ETF will do well. For example...suppose that a person ten years prior to retirement has $150,000 in an IRA but would like to have 250,000 be feel secure and comfortable in retirement. Investing in US Treasuries and S&P derivatives will not get the job done. In my opinion ETF's are a better choice for modest appreciation. But there is a third choice....Mutual Funds, will easily get the job done. It does not take a great deal of research. Go to the library and pull out the most recent copy of Morningstar and select some 5 star funds. Money Magazine is another of many choices. morningstar.com You are right about options Gottfried......they are the best vehicle for short term capital appreciation. This is where my portfolio powered up the last two years. I use slightly in the money options three to six months out.

To: Gottfried who wrote (1425)	6/17/2014 9:47:37 AM
From: Kirk ©	1 Recommendation Recommended By Gottfried Respond to of 26536

Digitimes Research: Korea semiconductor companies to ramp up capital spending in 2H14 Ricky Tu, DIGITIMES Research, Taipei [Tuesday 17 June 2014] www.digitimes.com/news/a20140617PD203.html Semiconductor capital spending by Samsung Electronics has topped the world's semiconductor companies for the fourth straight year since 2010. In 2014, Samsung's semiconductor capex is expected to stay flat at US$11.5 billion as compared to the previous year. However, since Samsung plans to begin install production equipment at its Line-17 fab in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, its semiconductor capex in the second half of 2014 will be higher than that in the first half, according to Digitimes Research. Having already set up seven semiconductor production lines in its plants in Hwaseong and Xian, China, the Hwaseong plant will aim to migrate to more advanced process nodes in 2014, while the Xian plant will focus on ramping up its vertical-NAND (V-NAND) flash capacity. The Line-17 fab, which is slated for completion in the second half of 2014, will focus on offering wafer foundry services using 20nm and below processes, Digitimes Research said. Meanwhile, SK Hynix's capex for 2014 is expected to reach US$3.3-3.8 billion, up from US$3.3 billion a year earlier. SK Hynix' main capex for 2014 will be used to build its M14 fab. Construction of the M14 line is expected to begin in mid-2014. Capital spending of other semiconductor companies, including Micron Technology, Toshiba and SanDisk will also top US$1.0 billion each in 2014. Micron is expected to accelerate the migration of its DRAM production to 20nm process, while also ramping up its NAND flash capacity. Toshiba will team up with SanDisk to expand the production capacity of V-NAND flash at its plant in Yokkaichi. For non-memory chips, the 2014 capex of Intel, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), Globalfoundries and United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC) will also exceed US$1 billion each. While Intel will deepen its development of 14nm and below processes, TSMC will focus on 16nm FinFET process. Globalfoundries and UMC will raise the ratios of their 28nm production,while beginning to develop 20nm and below technologies. Combined 2014 capital spending of these semiconductor firms with a capex budget of over US$1 billion in the year is expected to amount to US$49.3 billion, Digitimes Research estimates. The top-three DRAM chipmakers will move to upgrade their processes to 25-21nm, while the NAND flash industry will stress on ramping V-NAND flash production as well as to migrate to 19-16nm processes.

To: Gottfried who wrote (1425)	6/18/2014 10:11:08 AM
From: Kirk ©	2 Recommendations Recommended By Gottfried Sr K Respond to of 26536

Remember when TV that covered your favorite sports teams was free and a phone for local calls was fairly inexpensive, had great call quality and reliability but was very expensive to make long distance calls? Then they broke up AT&T to get competition and lower rates for LD calls I seldom made. Now we pay over $1000 a year for wireless phone plans for smart phones we didn't know we needed, a lot of money for just a wire to our homes for local calls (loaded up with taxes) and add another $1500 or so if you want a really good cable/Dish/DirecTV plan and they do all they can to protect the oligopolies News: T-Mobile is looking to purchase a few smaller competitors to hedge itself in case the possible Sprint ( S) merger does not come down the pipe. The smaller carriers have a "low-band spectrum", which offers greater service in urban areas due to its ability to penetrate buildings. T-Mobile ( TMUS) is looking for this advantage in order to increase its share in the metropolitan market. After reporting yesterday that AT&T ( T) will be the exclusive provider in the U.S. for its new smartphone, Amazon ( AMZN) is now in talks to determine who will be its provider in Europe. The company has already spoken to O2 ( TEF) and Vodafone ( VOD) in the U.K. Amazon is set to reveal the smartphone rumored to feature a 3D display at an event in Seattle later today. Telefonica has offered to buy Mediaset's 22% stake in Distribuidora de Television Digital (DTS) for €295M ($400M). If the deal is signed, Telefonica ( TEF) will become the sole owner of the Spanish pay-TV company. On June 2, the company agreed to buy a 56% stake in DTS from Prisa for €750M. The agreement is pending regulatory approval, but would increase Telefonica's share in DTS to 78%. Telefonica is looking to expand its TV business to counteract its contracting phone industry.

To: Gottfried who wrote (1425)

6/20/2014 10:37:43 AM

From: Kirk ©

2 Recommendations

Recommended By
Gottfried
The Ox

Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 26536

Sequentially, Billings are up but bookings dropped a bit.
www.semi.org/en/node/50251
North American Semiconductor Equipment Industry Posts May 2014 Book-to-Bill Ratio of 1.00

SAN JOSE, Calif. — June 19, 2014 — North America-based manufacturers of semiconductor equipment posted $1.41 billion in orders worldwide in May 2014 (three-month average basis) and a book-to-bill ratio of 1.00, according to the May EMDS Book-to-Bill Report published today by SEMI. A book-to-bill of 1.00 means that $100 worth of orders were received for every $100 of product billed for the month.

The three-month average of worldwide bookings in May 2014 was $1.41 billion. The bookings figure is 2.4 percent lower than the final April 2014 level of $1.44 billion, and is 6.6 percent higher than the May 2013 order level of $1.32 billion.

The three-month average of worldwide billings in May 2014 was $1.41 billion. The billings figure is 0.3 percent higher than the final April 2014 level of $1.40 billion, and is 15.1 percent higher than the May 2013 billings level of $1.22 billion.

“Semiconductor equipment bookings and billings maintain a consistent pace approaching the end of the second quarter,” said Denny McGuirk, president and CEO of SEMI. “Like other trends reported across the industry, semiconductor process equipment sales demonstrate positive year-over-year performance.”

The SEMI book-to-bill is a ratio of three-month moving averages of worldwide bookings and billings for North American-based semiconductor equipment manufacturers. Billings and bookings figures are in millions of U.S. dollars.

	Billings (3-mo. avg)	Bookings (3-mo. avg)	Book-to-Bill
December 2013	1,349.7	1,380.8	1.02
January 2014	1,233.2	1,280.3	1.04
February 2014	1,288.3	1,295.4	1.01
March 2014	1,225.5	1,297.7	1.06
April 2014 (final)	1,403.2	1,443.0	1.03
May 2014 (prelim)	1,408.0	1,407.9	1.00

Source: SEMI, June 2014

To: Gottfried who wrote (1425)	6/25/2014 11:54:01 AM
From: Kirk ©	1 Recommendation Recommended By Gottfried Respond to of 26536

TSMC to operate at full capacity in 2H14 Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) will operate at full capacity in the third and fourth quarters, with revenues generated from 20nm processes to account for 10% of total revenues in the third quarter and rise to 20% in the fourth, according company chairman Morris Chang. The global semiconductor industry is expected to grow 3-5% annually in the next five years, but TSMC's growth rates will be higher than the industry average, Chang said at the company's latest shareholders meeting. TSMC's wafer production reached 15.67 million 8-inch equivalent wafers in 2013 compared to 14.04 million units a year earlier, said the company, adding that 40/45nm and below processes currently account for 50% of TSMC's total revenues. TSMC currently has a total of over 20 tape-out clients for its 16nm FinFET process, the company noted. Meanwhile, TSMC plans to set up a special R&D unit, which will be powered by 300-400 technicians, to develop 10nm processes, aiming to push the process into trial production in 2015 and mass production in 2016. News website: www.digitimes.com