Electronic Business articles from July 2002

Electronic Business archives from July 2002

'Cooking the books'--the sequel. (Editor's Note).(Column)
July 1, 2002... One of the best things about being in an industry for 19 years is that once in a long while you get to crow, "I told you so." I had that experience this week (I'm writing this column the first week in June) and it felt so good I can't resist...

Letters.(Letter to the Editor)
July 1, 2002... WATER WISE I commend ELECTRONIC BUSINESS for focusing on both the environmental- and cost-savings benefits of reducing wasted water in the May 2002 article "Fixing Leaky Fabs," [page 56]. Adding to the article's examples at Intel, my...

When 'fast and cheap' processors beat 'flexible and convenient'. (The Chip Advisor).
July 1, 2002... In-Stat/MDR's recent Embedded Processor Forum (EPF) drew attention to the key point of controversy in the microprocessor industry today: Is it better to use a general-purpose processor for performance-hungry applications such as multimedia and...

Design chain optimization. (Commentary).
July 1, 2002... One of the distinguishing characteristics that sets the electronics industry apart from others is the nature of its most critical resource: the human imagination. Simply put, high-tech companies live and die by the innovative imaginations of...

Striking gold in the white-box market. (Commentary).
July 1, 2002... During the Gold Rush of 1849, prospectors went West searching for fortune and fame. Today, wise suppliers are setting their sights on the white-box personal computer market, mining this rich market opportunity. The maturation of the PC...

Cash some chips on e-enabling. (Commentary).
July 1, 2002... The trend of e-enabling has proven both exciting and challenging for the semiconductor industry. While it holds tremendous potential for value creation, the road to identifying the right e-opportunities has been confusing and filled with...

GDP growing again, with help from government spending. (Analysis).
July 1, 2002... Things are looking up for the U.S. economy, and to a somewhat lesser extent for the global economy as a whole. Yet threats to a smooth rebound remain, and for the nation's electronics industry, we're only now just starting to see the first...

Goodwill hunting: companies roll the dice on goodwill impairment charges. (Finance).
July 1, 2002... Last July, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued a new ruling (FAS 142) that changed the way companies account for goodwill. The good news: Goodwill no longer has to be amortized over 20 to 40 years. The bad news: Goodwill has...

Confidence crisis: ten ways to calm skittish investors. (Finance).
July 1, 2002... Investors right now feel about as secure as a truck driver barreling down a hill with no brakes. In fact, National Institute of Investor Relations (NIRI) Chairman Don Eagon calls the challenge of restoring investor confidence "unprecedented."...

Worried and wary. (Business Barometer).
July 1, 2002... Our latest survey of purchasing managers shows that the economy and the electronics market are still unstable. Only one in 10 of those polled expects business to increase over the next 30 days. A volatile stock market, an uncertain political...

China's in the chips: semiconductor investment heats up in China, despite business hurdles and trade concerns. (Business Trends).
July 1, 2002... Beverly, MA-based Axcelis Technologies Inc. sold its semiconductor manufacturing tools in China through a local representative for nearly 20 years before deciding to launch a full-fledged subsidiary there in March. So what prompted the change?...

A taxing idea. (Business Trends).
July 1, 2002... A coalition of business groups is fighting a change in U.S. Internal Revenue Service rules that would make stock options subject to payroll taxes. Under the new rules, the payroll tax of 15.3%--roughly split between employer and...

Don't mess with my tech: the Advanced Technology Program is under fire. (Business Trends).
July 1, 2002... The Advanced Technology Program (ATP), which has pumped hundreds of millions of dollars of federal funds into innovative methods for improving semiconductors and electronic components since its creation in 1988, is under attack from the Bush...

Waste not, want not: industry, government and environmental groups try to define recycling program. (Business Trends).
July 1, 2002... Electronics manufacturers, government agencies and environmental groups hope to reach an agreement by September on the outline of a voluntary system for collecting, reusing and recycling used electronics devices. These groups seek to offer a...

Not a cure for headaches: VeriChip provider hits snags with FDA, accountants. (Business Trends).
July 1, 2002... In May, Applied Digital Solutions Inc., a medical devices company, was basking in the media spotlight. The Palm Beach, FL, company had just implanted the members of a Florida family with its VeriChip product, a radio-frequency chip that holds...

Accounting footnotes: Enron-itis has spurred more disclosure--and more skepticism. (Business Trends: Management).
July 1, 2002... Get out those reading glasses, folks. Annual reports may soon be as thick as novels and for the true detail-junkie, just as interesting. At first pass, high-tech companies and their auditing firms say nothing really has changed since the...

Spinning in circles? spin-offs and carve-outs: The latest thinking on these forms of financial engineering. (Finance).
July 1, 2002... Worried about the mounting debt that's got a choke-hold on your balance sheet? Impatient that your corporate growth rate is being dragged down by one steady, but unspectacular, division? Or is there an executive VP across the hall who's really...

One - stop automatino? a few leading vendors are emerging for semiconductor fab automation, as the shift to 300-mm wafers boosts demand. (Semiconductor Equipment).
July 1, 2002... ICHAEL PIPPINS, senior vice president of Brooks Automation Inc.'s factory interface division, used to consider his company to be one of the underdogs in an industry populated by bigger, stronger competitors. As recently as 1997, in fact,...

Organic growth: Medtronic navigates from the heart into other parts of the body in search of new markets. (Medical Electronics).
July 1, 2002... IN THE 1966 FILM FANTASTIC VOYAGE, five researchers are miniaturized and sent into the bloodstream of an ailing genius to dissolve a blood clot that is inaccessible to conventional surgical repair. The crew must make its way through nearly...

Electronics that get under your Skin: implantable devices are the true personal computers. (Medical Electronics).
July 1, 2002... VICE PRESIDENT DICK CHENEY is one of millions of Americans who literally have taken highly sophisticated electronics to heart. Residing in his chest is a tiny cardiac defibrillator that not only keeps his heart ticking steadily but also can...

Moving into the real world: European research labs are increasing their ties with industry, and some are even reaching beyond their borders. (Research & Development).
July 1, 2002... EUROPEAN RESEARCH LABS, TRADITIONALLY closely tied to government and enshrouded in the cocoon of the academia, are increasingly doing real-world research for real-world companies. Some have even launched programs to become global R&D providers....

Entrepreneurs, investors can find opportunities in lengthening downturn. (Venture Pulse).
July 1, 2002... For brave venture investors, this post-boom era has created prime conditions for funding early-stage companies, and deal flow is accelerating. Today's new start-ups will target the more promising markets of 2004 to 2005. The ground rules for...