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Politics : Formerly About Applied Materials -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Gottfried who wrote (13574)	12/18/1997 2:50:00 PM
From: Paul V.	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 70976

Gottfried, >MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., December 18, 1997 -- The North American semiconductor equipment industry posted a book-to-bill ratio of 0.99 for November 1997, it was reported by Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI). This is the ninth-straight month orders and shipments have advanced. A book-to-bill of 0.99 means $99 in orders were received for each $100 worth of products shipped. Three-month average shipments increased in November 1997 to $1.9 billion. The figure is nine percent above the October 1997 level and 80 percent above the November 1996. Three-month average bookings increased in November 1997 to $1.9 billion. The bookings figure increased five percent above the October 1997 level and is 98 percent above the November 1996 level. "This is the ninth straight month shipments and bookings have increased," said Dick Greene, principal analyst for SEMI."In November, the orders were the highest they have been for 1997. The reason the ratio is lower is because the shipments grew at a faster rate than did the orders. This is why it is important to analyze the "numbers behind the numbers." Even with the current environment of DRAM pricing pressures and the financial concerns in the Pacific Rim, the industry continues to grow at a healthy level."< Isn't interesting the spin they place on a lower BTB numbers when they want the stock to go up. This time they compare to last years numbers. In the beginning of the big selloff the last of July they compared to the previous months numbers rather than the previous years numbers. IMHO, I bet the stock runs up rather than down because of the spin and the large number of funds now owning the stock at these low prices. We will just have to wait and see! Just my $.02. Paul V.