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From: etchmeister	12/1/2011 12:12:21 AM
	of 546

they are finally ramping - regardless from the noise... remember TSMC pulled the plug 9 months ago and here we go... TSMC struggles with 28nm orders Written by Fudzilla staff font size Print E-mail Comments (2) 100,000 wafers per month won’t be enough TSMC is seeing strong orders for 28nm chips, but punters are now questioning whether the foundry can ramp 28nm production in time to meet demand. By the end of the year, TSMC should be churning out about 20,000 wafers and the figure is set to rise to about 100,000 after volume production starts in the first quarter of 2012. However, the new process was already tapped by numerous companies for everything from GPUs to ARM based chips and even AMD APUs. Qualcomm, Nvidia, AMD, Xilinx and Altera are already on board and several major players, including Broadcom and STMicroelectronics are also interested. Let’s not forget that Apple could also be one of the major partners in the second half of 2012. Of course, the catch is that there is simply not enough capacity to go around. TSMC plans to open a new 28nm plant in Q1 and until it does it is stuck with 20,000 wafers a month. This could prove to be a serious bottleneck over the next few months, so don’t hold your breath waiting for new 28nm graphics or phones based on next generation multicore chips. More here.

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From: etchmeister	12/1/2011 11:13:15 AM
	of 546

TSMC seeing tight capacity for 28nm processes Printer friendly Related stories Comments Email to a friend Latest news Advertisement Cage Chao, Taipei; Jessie Shen, DIGITIMES [Friday 25 November 2011] (I bet you this will be reflected during next week's update - leadtimes for equipment have become shorter compared to the past; they wait until the last minute - right now TSMC has almost a monopoly @28nm and I bet you they demanding premium) Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) continues to see orders heat up for advanced 28nm technology, despite a general slowdown in the semiconductor industry, according to industry sources. Order visibility has stretched to about six months, said the sources. TSMC is expected to see 28nm processes account for more than 2% of company revenues in the fourth quarter of 2011. The proportion will expand further to over 10% in 2012, as more available capacity coupled with rising customer demand boost the output, the sources indicated. Wafer output using 28nm processes is projected to top 20,000 units a month by the end of 2011, and will expand significantly in 2012 when new capacity at Fab 15 comes online, the sources noted. Fab 15, TSMC's third 12-inch fab, will begin volume production in the first quarter of 2012, and ultimately raise its monthly capacity to the designed level of 100,000 wafers per month. Altera, AMD, Nvidia, Qualcomm and Xilinx have all contracted TSMC to manufacture their 28nm products. Broadcom, LSI Logic and STMicroelectronics reportedly are among potential clients for TSMC's 28nm technology. TSMC chairman and CEO Morris Chang remarked during the company's most-recent investors meeting that sales from 28nm process technology would play an important source of company growth.

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To: etchmeister who wrote (521)	12/6/2011 3:35:59 PM
From: etchmeister	of 546

Hill seems to spend a lot of time @ customers which is good - if I recall correctly he visited Asia back in October prior to cc and according to him NAND should be strong in 2012. Adata reports strong SSD sales on demand for tablets, ultrabooks Printer friendly Related stories Comments Email to a friend Latest news Advertisement Josephine Lien, Taipei; Jessie Shen, DIGITIMES [Tuesday 6 December 2011] Memory module firm Adata Technology saw sales of its SSD product line continue to stay at high levels in November thanks to rising demand for tablet PCs and an influx of short lead-time orders coming from the ultrabook sector, according to the company. Adata revealed the contribution to revenues of its NAND flash and other non-DRAM module products reached 68.74% in November, driven by strong SSD sales. Adata registered NT$2.74 billion (US$90.8 million) in November revenues, up about 4% sequentially. Revenues for the first 11 months of 2011 amounted to NT$27.15 billion, down 28.9% from a year ago. Meanwhile, Adata saw its SSD sales during the 11-month period far exceed those generated during all of 2010. The rising SSD sales will buoy its gross margin performance, the company added. In addition, Adata commented that short-term prices for DRAM memory are likely to bottom out as a result of chipmakers' production cutbacks. Adata experienced its second straight quarterly loss in the third quarter of 2011. The company expects to break even as early as the fourth quarter, and move foward generating profits in the first half of 2012.

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From: etchmeister	12/7/2011 12:23:24 PM
	of 546

OT: Here is (one) German view on the S & P downgrade. S&P is part of McGrahill (Goldman Sachs owns 5.7%); Geithner, Paulson... I thought it's kind of "refreshing" reading a piece not made by the media "Made in USA" Europe's top credit rating at risk with an American eye 12/07/2011 · The rating agency Standard & Poor's has placed the credit of € 15 states of the zone under observation. The action has political significance: S & P calls for the printing press. Does the agency on the crisis summit heard? By Holger Steltzner Article Pictures (2) Reader Reviews (58) © Bernd Helfert The U.S. rating agency Standard & Poor's, Europe is on the red list. The creditworthiness of Germany and France and other countries € 13 is threatened, a likely recession. The monetary union is facing a systemic crisis of confidence, which eats into the core of the euro area. Finland, the Netherlands, Germany - no one is safe - Standard & Poor's is set just before the Euro-crisis peak. This suggests high waves. European politicians react with a mixture of anger and serenity, some people enough about conspiracy theories. Noteworthy is that hardly anyone upset about the questionable information policy of the agency from which information for the third time in advance are a small part flowed from market participants, could make it good business at the expense of later Informed. The economic and political reasons for the threatened downgrading of credit ratings are also not a surprise as the large number of affected borrowers. As a result, Standard & Poor's follows the decisions of investors, beyond the € increasingly trust. Leaps and bounds (€-Crisis Fund) or insidious (bond purchases and Balance of Payments ECB) increases the liability of the (still) stable northern countries for debt countries, especially in the south of the monetary union. Including the credit rating suffers even the best borrowers. The calm response to the verdict of the markets, Standard & Poor's shows again, ratings are no early warning system, but serve as a late Warner. S & P swings to the political actor in The action has political significance. The Agency is now with her sharp criticism because they want to enforce decisions of the European summit on the crisis in their favor. So it stands out on its role as a credit investigator and also swings to the actor, on the decision-maker. Standard & Poor's takes up all claim to speak on behalf of investors that the rating decision must often follow, for prudential reasons, which could question the legislature quietly once. However, the Agency carries no political responsibility. She also has no claim to sole representation for the market. Standard & Poor's is an agency of the United States, with the view through the goggles American countries and graded companies and represents the interests of Wall Street here. This is evidenced by the list of demands from Standard & Poor's. He is imbued with the American idea of ??being able at will to create growth with cheap money. Among the sustained collateral damage of such a policy but are always larger bubbles, the descent of the real economy and a bloated financial sector. However, the reference is from continental Europe on long-term beneficial effects of structural reforms for the competitiveness of a hearing, if desired by market participants should be satisfied immediately. © dpa Standard & Poor's requires the European Central Bank monetary policy on the American model. Regardless of the legal situation (prohibition of state financing by the central bank) and without consideration of the mandate (price stability as a goal) is to limit the ECB buying government bonds. Those who argue so, the verdict is not the cares of the Federal Constitutional Court. As many now want to fire up the printing presses rescue Europeans also as a means of last election, at the crisis summit might be some way for this. If the right not to be broken open with € bonds or bond purchases by the ECB should remain after the trial of the detour financing of the International Monetary Fund nor the old proposal for a banking license for the euro-crisis fund. This could make for a motion on refinancing, which could correspond to the Monetary Policy Council by majority vote against the federal bench. Then the crisis fund could buy up all the government bonds on the market and submit as collateral for refinancing with the ECB. Actually financed the Fed then the states - but not formal. So you could take the debtor Italy from the market, which of course made every incentive to continue sound financial management and the ECB's credibility would be destroyed. More articles Standard & Poor's risk-euro rescue fund EFSF derated Standard & Poor's justification in the wording Standard & Poor's downgrade threatens Germany Through the fund purchases the bank crisis may soon even falter in the balance sheet of the ECB were at high risk of loss, which would be offset by profits from the printing of money. By then, the Fed could skim through the bond purchases into circulation not more liquidity, the ECB would have lost all confidence. At the end would be the massive purchase of government bonds, not a solution to the debt crisis, but the accelerated breakdown of the euro monetary system due to inflation. Before the summit, the proposal is "banking license" re-emerged from obscurity. Hopefully he is not on the table on Friday. translate.google.com

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To: etchmeister who wrote (524)	12/7/2011 10:14:05 PM
From: etchmeister	of 546

I wish Oblahblah had Merkel's balls - I mean sort of. France and Germany are on the same page - S&Pee downgrade will back fire unless S&Peee feels like playing suicide bomber (it's all about bailing out BIG US money with exposure to Europe) First and foremost, however, Merkel will be focused on pushing through the treaty changes she would like to see be made. And according to media reports, she isn't planning to back down. Germany, said a top Berlin official on Wednesday, will not agree to any "lazy compromises." (= like kicking down the can) How Goldman Sachs Helped Greece to Mask its True Debt By Beat Balzli dpa Greek Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou speaking at a conference in January. Goldman Sachs helped the Greek government to mask the true extent of its deficit with the help of a derivatives deal that legally circumvented the EU Maastricht deficit rules. At some point the so-called cross currency swaps will mature, and swell the country's already bloated deficit. Greeks aren't very welcome in the Rue Alphones Weicker in Luxembourg. It's home to Eurostat, the European Union's statistical office. The number crunchers there are deeply annoyed with Athens. Investigative reports state that important data "cannot be confirmed" or has been requested but "not received." Creative accounting took priority when it came to totting up government debt.Since 1999, the Maastricht rules threaten to slap hefty fines on euro member countries that exceed the budget deficit limit of three percent of gross domestic product. Total government debt mustn't exceed 60 percent. The Greeks have never managed to stick to the 60 percent debt limit, and they only adhered to the three percent deficit ceiling with the help of blatant balance sheet cosmetics. One time, gigantic military expenditures were left out, and another time billions in hospital debt. After recalculating the figures, the experts at Eurostat consistently came up with the same results: In truth, the deficit each year has been far greater than the three percent limit. In 2009, it exploded to over 12 percent. Now, though, it looks like the Greek figure jugglers have been even more brazen than was previously thought. "Around 2002 in particular, various investment banks offered complex financial products with which governments could push part of their liabilities into the future," one insider recalled, adding that Mediterranean countries had snapped up such products. Greece's debt managers agreed a huge deal with the savvy bankers of US investment bank Goldman Sachs at the start of 2002. The deal involved so-called cross-currency swaps in which government debt issued in dollars and yen was swapped for euro debt for a certain period -- to be exchanged back into the original currencies at a later date. Fictional Exchange Rates Such transactions are part of normal government refinancing. Europe's governments obtain funds from investors around the world by issuing bonds in yen, dollar or Swiss francs. But they need euros to pay their daily bills. Years later the bonds are repaid in the original foreign denominations. But in the Greek case the US bankers devised a special kind of swap with fictional exchange rates. That enabled Greece to receive a far higher sum than the actual euro market value of 10 billion dollars or yen. In that way Goldman Sachs secretly arranged additional credit of up to $1 billion for the Greeks. This credit disguised as a swap didn't show up in the Greek debt statistics. Eurostat's reporting rules don't comprehensively record transactions involving financial derivatives. "The Maastricht rules can be circumvented quite legally through swaps," says a German derivatives dealer. In previous years, Italy used a similar trick to mask its true debt with the help of a different US bank. In 2002 the Greek deficit amounted to 1.2 percent of GDP. After Eurostat reviewed the data in September 2004, the ratio had to be revised up to 3.7 percent. According to today's records, it stands at 5.2 percent. At some point Greece will have to pay up for its swap transactions, and that will impact its deficit. The bond maturities range between 10 and 15 years. Goldman Sachs charged a hefty commission for the deal and sold the swaps on to a Greek bank in 2005. The bank declined to comment on the controversial deal. The Greek Finance Ministry did not respond to a written request for comment.

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From: etchmeister	12/8/2011 11:33:02 AM
	of 546

The European Government of Goldman Sachs Posted on November 17, 2011 \| 2 Comments So, Berlusconi was eventually removed, like Papendreou, by external forces in the ECB alongside European technocrats and anonymous bankers. The money markets decided that Italy must pay a premium on its bonds for having Berlusconi as head of government. Within days he was gone. We don’t know the fine details of the communication between ECB, international finance actors and domestic technocrats in Italy. But, we do know that it was not the millions of furious Italians that brought Berlusconi down. It was the political pressure of markets. Central to this nexus of political power is Goldman Sachs. What do Mario Monti (new Italian head of government), Lucas Papademos (new Greek head of government), Mario Draghi (new head of ECB) and Peter Sutherland (hugely influential in Irish public policy) have in common? They all worked for the American investment bank – Goldman Sachs. This is not a coincidence, there is a subtle takeover taking place in Europe, oriented around elite networks of business plutocrats, in alliance with political technocrats, to ensure that the crisis is resolved without damaging the banking sector. Goldman Sachs is weaving a powerful network through a subtle form of quiet politics, under the guise of economic technical management. Draghi was Goldman Sachs vice chairman of the European division, from 2002-2005, during the period they helped cover up dodgy accounting practices in the Greek treasury. Monti was a special adviser to European Goldman Sachs from 2005, using his influence to “open doors” to the corridors of European political power. Papademos worked as a trader for the investment bank, and as governor of the Greek central bank from 1994-2002, was centrally involved in covering up Greek debt with assistance from Goldman Sachs. Sutherland is a chairman of Goldman Sachs international, with direct access to the political executive of the Irish state, because of his close Fine Gael connections. He was hugely influential upon the decision to bail out the banks – and make the Irish state insolvent. These are just four players in the European Goldman Sachs network. There are many more in high seats of the European civil service, finance ministries, and national central banks. The strategy of the US investment banks, according to the French journalist, Marc Roche, is to target EU commissioners and central bankers. This ensures direct access to information on interest rates, and undisclosed political decision-making. Discretion and quiet politics is the strategy. Goldman Sachs do not want their name mentioned anywhere. They are content with a subtle process of manufacturing collective consensus, behind closed doors, in alliance with other neutral ’economists’, to ensure the rules of the game are instituted in their favour. It is an extraordinary network of power that leads from Washington, Dublin, Brussels, Frankfurt, Rome and to Athens. The Europen Goldman Sachs government has significantly more influence than national politicians, backbenchers, and of course, European citizens. They, like most financiers, have a contempt for any attempt at politicizing macro-economic policies. This is why they want Prime Ministers replaced with technocrats, preferably from the central bank, to get on with the job of imposing structural adjustment in wage, fiscal and labour market policies. The Irish, Italian, Spanish, Portugese and Greek governments (whether they realise it or not) are nothing more than debt collecting agents of international finance. Democracy has been suspended in the interest of the London/Frankfurt stock exchange.

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To: etchmeister who wrote (525)	12/8/2011 11:25:00 PM
From: etchmeister	of 546

First and foremost, however, Merkel will be focused on pushing through the treaty changes she would like to see be made. And according to media reports, she isn't planning to back down. Germany, said a top Berlin official on Wednesday, will not agree to any "lazy compromises." (= like kicking the can down the road)According to the Spiegel report France/Germany actually succeded (fairly quickly): dass alle Euro-Länder künftig eine gesetzlich verankerte Schuldenbremse haben und Defizitsünder automatisch mit Sanktionen bestraft werden. There will be no unlimited spending and in case members can not stay within their budget it will have consequences. Now it gets weird: though UK is not part of the EURO the UK has a "problem" with France/Germany proposal - that seems very bizzare but that's what it is. The problem is neither Greece, Italy, Portugal or Spain - the problem is the UK and to some degree Sweden. Neither UK nor Sweden adopted the Euro! Sweden joined the European Union but wants to maintain its independence (wants the best of two worlds). The bottom line (according to my 2 cents) is that Germany will not fork the money over unconditionally and it appears that the 17 nations that actually use the Euro are agreeing with conditions set by France and Germany. Merkel is still reluctant to fire up the printing press but in case request for fiscal discipline are met she might make some concessions towards some quantitative easement. Just look at the "supercommitee" - they had months to come up with something. They kicked the can down the road and people like McCain already started to look into legal issues to stop automatic (military) cuts. BTW The Germans are laughing at the US for giving advise on how to deal with a debt crisis. Actually a guy like Ron Paul has more in common with Merkel than any other US politician. I think Ron Paul is kind of a nut but sometimes he's right on the money. "The 1992 Maastricht Treaty obliges most EU member states to adopt the euro upon meeting certain monetary and budgetary requirements, although not all states have done so. The United Kingdom and Denmark negotiated exemptions, [10] while Sweden (which joined the EU in 1995, after the Maastricht Treaty was signed) turned down the euro in a 2003 referendum, and has circumvented the obligation to adopt the euro by not meeting the monetary and budgetary requirements. All nations that have joined the EU since 1993 have pledged to adopt the euro in due course." What does the UK want? Es gab unterschiedliche Darstellungen darüber, was Cameron forderte: Während Franzosen und Deutsche es so darstellten, als wolle er neue Ausnahmen von der Finanzmarktregulierung, sagten britische Diplomaten, er wolle bloß eine schriftliche Zusicherung, dass EU-Beschlüsse zum Finanzsektor auch künftig nicht gegen den Willen Großbritanniens gefasst würden. Letzteres gilt auch in deutschen Regierungskreisen als legitimes Anliegen. Merkel will Bluff der Briten entlarven AP Kanzlerin Merkel: Schlagabtausch im kleinen Kreis Die EU-Regierungschefs haben sich auf eine Schuldenbremse für alle Euro-Länder geeinigt. Die Frage der Vertragsänderung aber spaltet den Gipfel: Der britische Premier Cameron und Kanzlerin Merkel halten an Maximalpositionen fest und setzen darauf, dass der andere zuerst einknickt. Die grundsätzliche Einigung auf einen neuen Haushaltspakt für die Euro-Länder war schnell erzielt. Schon vor Mitternacht drangen die ersten Nachrichten aus dem Verhandlungssaal im Brüsseler EU-Ratsgebäude, dass alle 27 EU-Regierungschefs den deutsch-französischen Vorschlägen für eine Fiskalunion folgen wollten. Damit ist entschieden, dass alle Euro-Länder künftig eine gesetzlich verankerte Schuldenbremse haben und Defizitsünder automatisch mit Sanktionen bestraft werden. ANZEIGE Die entscheidende Frage jedoch wurde in der ersten Gipfelnacht von Donnerstag auf Freitag noch nicht geklärt: In welche rechtliche Form soll dieser Haushaltspakt gegossen werden? Kanzlerin Angela Merkel und Frankreichs Präsident Nicolas Sarkozy fordern, dass die neuen Regeln in den Lissabon-Vertrag geschrieben werden. Eine solche Vertragsänderung wollten jedoch nicht alle Partner mittragen. Allen voran stellte der britische Premier David Cameron Bedingungen, die Merkel und Sarkozy zunächst als unerfüllbar zurückwiesen. Sollte die Vertragsänderung am Widerstand der anderen scheitern, wollen Merkel und Sarkozy die neuen Regeln in einem separaten Vertrag der 17 Euro-Länder festhalten. Dessen Rechtmäßigkeit wäre jedoch umstritten. Obendrein würde dies den Trend zur Zwei-Klassen-EU beschleunigen - ein Ergebnis, dass alle Gipfelteilnehmer möglichst verhindern wollen. Was will Cameron? Schon vor dem Beginn des Abendessens lieferten sich die Hauptkontrahenten am Donnerstagabend einen Schlagabtausch im kleinen Kreis. Merkel, Sarkozy und Cameron trafen sich unter sechs Augen und steckten ihre Positionen ab. Für alle Beteiligten war es ein Déjà Vu: Cameron wiederholte die Linie, die er bei bilateralen Besuchen in Paris und Berlin bereits vertreten hatte. Auch Merkel und Sarkozy blieben stur. Es gab unterschiedliche Darstellungen darüber, was Cameron forderte: Während Franzosen und Deutsche es so darstellten, als wolle er neue Ausnahmen von der Finanzmarktregulierung, sagten britische Diplomaten, er wolle bloß eine schriftliche Zusicherung, dass EU-Beschlüsse zum Finanzsektor auch künftig nicht gegen den Willen Großbritanniens gefasst würden. Letzteres gilt auch in deutschen Regierungskreisen als legitimes Anliegen. Es gehört zur Gipfeldramaturgie, am Anfang Maximalpositionen einzunehmen, die dann in zermürbenden Marathonsitzungen nach und nach geräumt werden. Erfahrene EU-Beobachter wollten die Hoffnung daher in der Nacht noch nicht aufgeben, dass eine Einigung auf eine Vertragsänderung im Kreis der 27 möglich sei. "Das war jetzt erst die Aufwärmphase", kommentierte ein EU-Diplomat die anfänglichen Scharmützel. Merkel setzt offensichtlich darauf, dass Cameron in der schwächeren Verhandlungsposition ist. Tatsächlich wirkt es so, als wolle der britische Premier mit seinem markigen Auftreten vor allem seine konservative Unterhausfraktion beeindrucken, die von diesen Verhandlungen einen greifbaren Vorteil für die britische Wirtschaft erwartet. Zugleich wird Cameron in der Heimatpresse aber auch dafür kritisiert, Großbritannien an den Rand Europas zu drängen. Es wäre daher nicht in seinem Interesse, die Euro-Zone zu einem separaten Vertrag der 17 zu zwingen. Großbritannien wäre dann noch stärker marginalisiert. Die Bundesregierung hofft daher, dass der Brite sich zuerst bewegt. Auf der anderen Seite scheint es nicht ausgeschlossen, dass sie Cameron doch noch entgegen kommt. Schließlich will Merkel die Fiskalunion auf ein einwandfreies rechtliches Fundament stellen - und das ist nach Meinung der EU-Juristen nur im Rahmen des Lissabon-Vertrags möglich. ANZEIGE <script type="text/javascript" language="JavaScript" src="http://ad.yieldlab.net/d/3543/3668/300x250?id=[extid]&ts=2011.12.09.03.23.40"></script> Zum Leidwesen der Kanzlerin hatten die Briten in Brüssel mehrere Alliierte. Andere Regierungschefs, darunter der Schwede Fredrik Reinfeldt, hielten die Vertragsänderung ebenso für überflüssig. Einige wollen lieber keine stärkeren Durchgriffsrechte der EU-Institutionen auf nationale Haushalte. Andere halten den Zeitpunkt des Vorstoßes für falsch, weil er von der akuten Krisenbekämpfung ablenkt. Andere wiederum befürchten, dass der Ratifizierungsprozess mit Volksabstimmungen in mehreren Ländern die nächste Euro-Krise auslösen werde. EU-Ratspräsident Herman van Rompuy hatte daher als Alternative zur ungeliebten Vertragsänderung einen Eingriff in das Protokoll 12 vorgeschlagen, in dem das Vorgehen der EU-Kommission gegen Defizitsünder geregelt wird. Für diese Protokolländerung wäre nur ein Beschluss der EU-Regierungschefs nötig, der langwierige Ratifizierungsprozess in allen Mitgliedsstaaten entfiele. Die Bundesregierung hatte van Rompuys Vorschlag als "Trickserei" abgelehnt - und damit van Rompuy, EU-Kommissionschef Jose Manuel Barroso und Euro-Gruppenchef Jean-Claude Juncker gegen sich aufgebracht. Merkel und Sarkozy zeigten sich jedoch entschlossen, eine Entscheidung zu erzwingen. Es müsse eine Einigung geben, sagte der französische Präsident. "Eine zweite Chance gibt es nicht".

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