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

To: Duker who wrote (30502)	5/21/1999 7:39:00 PM
From: tombet	Respond to of 70976

OT OT OT OT I can't believe all the positive press AMAT has received over the last week or so. Just about every ANALyst has a buy rating for this stock. Now if the stair case workers get back to work AMAT should hit about $100 so they can do their usual October odd year 2 for 1 split.

To: Duker who wrote (30502)	5/21/1999 7:44:00 PM
From: Proud_Infidel	Respond to of 70976

Fab utilization edges up, but total output slips A service of Semiconductor Business News, CMP Media Inc. Story posted 3:30 p.m. EST/12:30 p.m., PST, 5/21/99 By J. Robert Lineback SAN JOSE --Capacity utilization in the world's integrated circuit fabs nudged up a bit to 84.0% in the first quarter from 81.7% in the fourth quarter last year, according to new data released by the Semiconductor Industry Association here this week. The Semiconductor International Capacity Statistics report said MOS fabs were operating at 85.5% of their total capacity worldwide vs. 82.9% in the final three months of 1998, but bipolar processing plants were down slightly to 73.8% from 74.1% in the final three months last year. Overall, the new report shows the utilization of IC fabs rising steadily since the low point in the third quarter last year when wafer-processing plants were only 80.8% full. While the capacity rate was rising, the total output of fabs continued to drop in the first quarter. The report said fabs worldwide were running an average of 1.687 million wafer starts a week in the first three months of this year compared to 1.725 million in the final quarter of 1998. Wafer starts--measured in 6-inch equivalents--peaked in the third quarter 1998 at 1.777 million at the time when most analyst believe the last recession hit its low point. The output of bipolar fabs also continued to slip in the first quarter with an average of 304,800 wafer starts a week in the last quarter vs. 339,900 in the final three months of 1998, according to the report. While utilization of IC wafer fabs is rising, the industry still has a ways to go before reaching the 93% level recorded in the second half of 1997. 204.247.196.14