Printed Circuit Design & Fab Online Magazine - Market News

Market News

SANTA CLARA, CA – Based on conjecture as a result of a dropping share price and dismal forecasts, server and software maker Sun Microsystems could be a prime takeover target for Hewlett-Packard, Fujitsu, IBM, Dell or another technology firm, say published reports.

If speculation comes to fruition, a sale of this caliber would mean a dollar amount in the billions.

No talks have been confirmed, but some analysts still say Sun is ripe for big players. However, other analysts say Sun’s goal is to fix the business rather than sell.

Sun has annual sales of $13.9 billion and a workforce of nearly 35,000 globally, according to published reports, making it the seventh-largest Silicon Valley-based firm.

The company said profits fell to $88 million from $329 million in the most recent quarter compared to the same period last year. Revenues were $3.78 billion, down 1.6% year-over-year.

Sun’s CFO, Mike Lehman, reportedly projected "modest, low-single-digit growth" in revenue for the next full year.

WASHINGTON, D.C.– According to a disclosure report filed on July 21, the Consumer Electronics Association spent $480,000 in the second quarter to lobby on several issues, including electronics recycling, energy efficiency, free trade agreements and digital television conversion.

In a three-month period, covering April through June, the trade group lobbied Congress, the EPA, the Department of Commerce and several other federal agencies.

WEST HAVEN, CT– Enthone Inc. recently opened its Semiconductor Applications Center in Taoyuan, Taiwan. The center, staffed by Enthone applications experts, provides wafer sample plating and testing for bath composition analysis, process optimization and characterization of plated features, as well as numerous other processes. Because over 65% of the world’s semiconductor foundry manufacturing and 60% of the world’s semiconductor packaging market is located in Taiwan, the center’s location allows the company to optimize manufacturing through direct customer feedback, and therefore, deliver critical solutions to the dynamic wafer fabrication marketplace.

SAN JOSE, CA – North America-based manufacturers of semiconductor equipment posted $905 million in orders in July and a book-to-bill ratio of 0.83, says SEMI.

The three-month average of worldwide bookings in July was down 3% sequentially, and down about 36% compared to July 2007.

The three-month average of worldwide billings was $1.09 billion, down about 6% sequentially, and down about 36% from the same month last year.

"Orders for semiconductor equipment continue reflect the pronounced cutback in capital expenditures this year and are at the lowest levels since November of 2003,” said Daniel Tracy, senior director of Industry Research and Statistics at SEMI. "While chip-makers remain attentive to cost controls, this remains a highly cyclic industry. Factory utilization levels, unit demand growth and planned fab projects suggest new investment activity will resume in 2009.”

NEW YORK -- The price of tin used in solder paste fell to $$8.00/LB down from $11.00/LB in May.

Gold was below $800/ Troy ounce, down to $786.50/ Troy ounce on Aug. 15, the first time in 2008 that the price has dipped below the $800 mark.

Pricing of CCL may also be headed downward. Copper prices have been in free fall since June, down from a high of $4.10/LB in July, to $3.25/LB last week. This coupled with a high CCL inventory level should push pricing down in Q4. Major companies in Asia have already reported price reductions in the range of 10% for new orders.

LONDON – The SMART Group today announced a packed program of events for the remainder of the year, including a series of seminars with technology experts during the EKTN event, Technology Breakthroughs – Bending the Design Rules. Most events will be held in the UK or Ireland, except as noted.

Sept. 10:Solving Counterfeit Components – The Problem, Identification & Testing

Sept. 18: New Environmental Regulations – Beyond Reach?

Sept. 25^: Environmental Directives Update Seminar

Sept. 28: Step-by-Step Temperature Profiling

Oct. 7: Conformal Coating Workshop – Hands-On

Oct. 8: Back to Basics Part 1 – PCB Manufacture

Oct. 13: The A to Z of Soldering (South Africa)

Oct. 14: The A-Z of Soldering (South Africa)

Oct. 15: The A to Z of Soldering (South Africa)

Oct. 30: PCB Design for Manufacture & Assembly

Nov. 6: Profit from RFID in your Business

Nov. 17-18: Technology Breakthroughs – Bending the Design Rules

Nov. 26: Hands-On Wave Soldering Workshop

Dec. 2: Monitoring & Controlling Your SMT Process

Dec. 4: Logistics in Electronics Workshop

Jan. 22: Materials Reliability Workshop

Feb. 3: Lead-Free Rework & Repair Workshop

Feb. 12: Back to Basics Part 2 – PCB Assembly

For information contact Tony Gordon at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or visit smartgroup.org.