Micron Technology Inc is not phased by suggestions that memory chip prices will come under pressure towards the end of the year – suggestions that in particular put a crimp in the Texas Instruments Inc share price this week: Micron’s Kipp Bedard told the conference that his company it sees 4M-bit dynamic memory chip prices remaining rock solid through the fourth quarter, despite the Credit Suisse First Boston suggestion that prices for 4Ms would fall to $10 to $11 a time by the first quarter next year; he told the conference that it was not conceivable that the prices would fall rapidly; Bedard went on to say that Micron was considering a more rapid expansion of its wafer-fabrication capacity; he noted that the company was about half way through its previously announced expansion and was now producing about 14,000 wafers a week; the next six months will see production capacity increase by another 3,000 wafers; additional expansion is under consideration, he added, and is planned in steps of 5% to 10% if market demand warrants it; the personal computer market now seemed healthy, and makers were no longer stretching out orders.
