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Technology Stocks : MEMC INT'L. (WFR -NYSE) The Sleeping Giant? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Zeev Hed who wrote (4278)	3/16/1999 10:34:00 PM
From: Logain Ablar	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 4697

Zeev: I read the P&F indicator gave a buy signal today on the semi's. I don't subscribe so can't confirm. Also, I'd expect the market to wait till around April 10 or so as investors are forced to sell to meet their 1998 year end tax payments and 1st quarter estimates <gg>. Tim

To: Zeev Hed who wrote (4278)	3/20/1999 12:38:00 AM
From: Peter Dierks	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 4697

news found on cmp - silicone wafer might be in short supply some day. by 2000, says researcher A service of Semiconductor Business News, CMP Media Inc. Story updated 4:30 p.m. EST/1:30 p.m. PST, 3/17/99/h5> By Bill McIlvaine OYSTER BAY, N.Y. -- There could be a shortage of silicon wafers by 2000, as fabless chip companies become a more potent factor in the industry and more semiconductor houses outsource production, putting a strain on wafer production. According to a new report by Allied Business Intelligence Inc., a technology research firm here, fabless companies are experiencing 30% annual growth, while other chip manufacturers could outsource a total of 10% of their IC production to foundries as they try to rush dormant lines to production. The result, said ABI, could not only be a shortage of wafers by 2000 but also a steep increase in wafer prices. Despite the prediction, many wafer vendors see their markets plagued by overcapacity and low prices, with no end in sight. "We are still seeing significant excess capacity and our prices are very depressed," said John Matlock, president and CEO of Komatsu Silicon America Inc. in Hillsboro, Ore. Matlock noted that the situation has been exacerbated by the Asian economic problems of the past year, and while that region and the overall semiconductor industry has begun to see some improvement, the wafer industry has not. "In the long term, the silicon industry will be strong again, but it will be tough for at least another year or so," he added. Silicon remains the dominant material for substrates and wafers, with demand expected to reach $7 billion in 1999, according to the ABI report. The reclaimed-wafer market is emerging as an important factor, according to the report, Wafers & Substrate Materials: World Markets 99." The savings brought about by using reclaimed wafers is expanding opportunities for test wafers as replacements for more expensive prime wafers and they now comprise 10% of the market. The timing of the move from 200- to 300-mm wafers still is in doubt, said ABI. A host of issues--the slump in revenues, the lack of available processing equipment, the cost of building a new 300-mm fab, etc.-- still have to be resolved before the transition can take place. Compound semiconductors like indium phosphide are moving to new applications beyond photonics, ABI found. Gallium nitride has been successfully demonstrated as a blue laser generator. Silicon carbide is poised to take over large segments in high-temperature and high-power electronics. Other compound semiconductor material systems including cadmium telluride and zinc selenide are experiencing steady growth in their niche applications, ABI said. --Additional reporting by Will Wade