Word: semiconductor
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...lows reached last November. The Standard & Poor's 500 index, weighed down by financials, fell 4.56%, while the Dow Industrials sank 3.8%, falling to within a fraction of its November 2008 low. Among the hardest hit sectors were bank stocks, down 10%, oil service stocks, down 8.2%, and semiconductor stocks, which fell 6.7%. Gold Mining was among the rare winners Tuesday, with the industry group rising 2.5%. (See pictures of the top 10 scared traders...
...industries have more self-destructive tendencies than the computer memory chip business. When semiconductor prices are high, manufacturers rush headlong into massive investments in new factories, leaving them vulnerable to supply gluts and economic slowdowns. Yet like mosquitoes to one of those electric zappers, chipmakers make the same mistake again and again, creating a binge-and-purge business pattern that occurs with sickening regularity. Of the top 10 largest manufacturers of dynamic random access memory chips, or DRAMs, in 1990, only one - Samsung Electronics of South Korea - remains on that list today...
...state aid, though, won't come without strings attached. ProMOS Technologies and Powerchip Semiconductor have asked the government for aid, and were told they must revise their proposals with more measures aimed at improving their competitiveness and technological capabilities. "The government sees this [aid] as an investment," Lu says, "We don't want to just bail out the industry." The result will likely be consolidation of the country's six major DRAM makers into fewer firms, including possible sales of stakes or entire companies to better capitalized foreign rivals. "It looks like merging is the direction of the industry," says...
...park's reliance on the U.S., where consumer demand for electronics is plunging, means companies based there are suffering from unprecedented reductions in orders. Even the world's largest semiconductor foundry, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), recently asked its 20,000 employees to take an extra day off every week for an indefinite period. The forced leave translates into pay cuts of at least 15%. But it avoids pink slips and allows TSMC to hang on to valuable staff. "This is a way that allows us to make the best of a bad situation," says TSMC spokesman Michael Kramer...
...lobbying the incoming Obama Administration to include "Buy America" provisions in the proposed government stimulus package, to favor their own steel over foreign imports. A state development fund in Taiwan is raising $6 billion to aid companies in the industries considered strategic for the economy; Taiwan chipmaker Powerchip Semiconductor has already applied for government help. China, meanwhile, has restored or raised tax rebates over the past six months on more than 3,700 export items, including many consumer goods like toys, to assist struggling small exporters. The rebates can help keep the prices of Chinese exports low and more competitive...