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.

Politics : Ask Michael Burke -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Knighty Tin who wrote (32948)	9/28/1998 7:33:00 PM
From: eabDad	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 132070

Michael: While your assessment of WFR stock price have been correct, the facts that have led to their current issues are incorrect. There is a glut of 200mm growing capacity, causing pricing pressure, and negative cash flow. That is the cause. Now for some clarification of incorrect perceptions ... "Sand" - while it does contain silicon - is NOT in the food chain at all for semiconductor grade silicon. The raw material for wafers is a purified silicon material referred in the industry as polysilicon. The poly process is actually a chemical purification process which starts with metallic grade silicon, converts it to a chemical liquid which is distilled, and then recrystallized through a chemical "cracking" process to pure polysilicon. The raw material of metallic silicon has only 3 or 4 sources in the world, and is centered in the mining industry. The raw material for metallic silicon is mineral deposits of quartz or quartzite. Beach sand has too many impurities to be economical to purify. The 1995-1996 silicon shortage was a result of a pinch of the capacity to make polysilicon - the purification process. Metallic silicon was plentiful, but poly was NOT. It takes 12-18 months from the start of capital spending to produce poly from a new plant. The price of poly went from $45 to $65-70 per metric ton in the pinch point, but once poly suppliers had profits to spend on capacity, the problem went away by the end of 1997. Please get your facts straight before you make willy-nilly comments, not based on any facts, which perpetuate the gross misperceptions about semiconductors being connected to "sand". Z

To: Knighty Tin who wrote (32948)	9/28/1998 10:02:00 PM
From: upanddown	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 132070

Please get your facts straight before you make willy-nilly comments, not based on any facts, which perpetuate the gross misperceptions about semiconductors being connected to "sand". Well, Mike,no more worries about you getting a big head since eabDAD gave you a good dissing. Until he straightened you out, I was about to take my three-year-old to Santa Monica beach, hand her a pail and tell her to go make some wafers. On a more interesting subject, thanks for your words on limit prices on options. One other question...do you always use limit prices at the ask rather than a market order ? I'am assuming the MM might jack up the ask on a market order. TIA, John