We first highlighted little noticed warnings that a chip industry recession might be on the way back in August, and others are now beginning to get jittery – not Japanese memory chip makers, who seem to be adding capacity almost recklessly in the wake of Advanced Micro Devices Inc’s lower-than-expected earnings and the company’s unwillingness to discuss current order trends: that has investors in the semiconductor sector worried that bad news might be behind the silence; according to Dow Jones & Co, First Boston Corp is said to have made negative comments about the semiconductor group following the Advanced Micro conference call; Advanced Micro said that sales of Am386 microprocessors fell and it expects revenues and margins for Flash memory to come under pressure as more rivals enter the field.
