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

To: zsteve who wrote (23129)	8/19/1998 8:17:00 PM
From: Jeffrey D	Respond to of 70976

zsteve:<<and most analysts will lost their jobs>> Hmm, not a bad idea. Jeff

To: zsteve who wrote (23129)	8/20/1998 1:24:00 AM
From: zsteve	Respond to of 70976

it's amazing to see how these analysts to put out a positive spin on every bad news. somebody must need to unload tons of amat and other semi shares badly? or the analysts just want to save their butts by keeping their buy rating? can they explain what happened to LSI,ADI,NSM? Media Inc. Story posted at 8:45 a.m. EDT/5:45 a.m. PDT, 8/19/98 Chip gear index hits new low despite hints of some improvement By J. Robert Lineback MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--The 1998 slump in chip production investments keeps digging deeper into a hole despite some predictions--and hopes--that it may be "bottoming out." The latest evidence comes from North American suppliers of chip manufacturing tools, whichg posted a book-to-bill ratio of 0.69 for July, the lowest point in the current downturn, said the Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI). A book-to-bill of 0.69 means $69 in orders were received for $100 worth of products shipped. June's book-to-bill figure was revised upward slightly to 0.74 by SEMI in the new report. The trade group here said its three-month moving average of chip-equipment billing shows suppliers shipping $1.105 billion worldwide in July compared to $1.235 billion in June--a 10.5% drop. Orders in July dropped 18.9% to $757 million vs. $933 million in June, SEMI said. "The July data confirms a continuation of the softening of equipment orders," said Dick Greene, principal analyst with SEMI. "As has been the case since this downturn began, surplus semiconductor production capacity and the Asian economic situation continue to dampen both the chip and the equipment industries." While there are no clear signs of a recovery yet, industry observers continue to see factors that could hint of an end to the downward trends in chip production spending. One shred of optimism is coming from DRAM prices, which have recently stabilized after continually dropping during the first half of 1998. After SEMI issued its July book-to-bill report on Tuesday, investment banker Morgan Stanley Dean Witter & Co. said it believes the drop in semiconductor sales compared to a year ago has hit a trough in the current cycle. "We expect a seasonal uptick in the semiconductor industry, which has started, to drive smaller year-over-year semiconductor industry revenue declines starting in August/September, which should drive improved photomask and equipment stock performance," the investment banker told its clients. "Comparisons get much easier in October and beyond, which should help the stocks trend in the upward direction as late 1998 unfolds.