10 posts and columns on consumer confidence

10 of the Days Before Christmas Hit $1 Billion in Online Spending

in Commerce on January 5 at 9:33 am PT

For the second straight year, Cyber Monday was the biggest online shopping day of the year, hitting $1.25 billion in the U.S.
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How Bad Is Semi Equipment Demand? Ask FSI International.

in News on April 1, 2009 at 4:12 am PT

FSI International is now a company that almost no one follows. But the latest results from the tiny Minneapolis-based semiconductor equipment firm offer a sobering snapshot of conditions in the industry.

National Semi Chips Away at Workforce

in News on March 11, 2009 at 12:22 pm PT

National Semi to Workforce: "What Color is Your Parachute?"

in News on March 11, 2009 at 7:53 am PT

To see just how badly the continuing erosion of consumer confidence is affecting the chip industry, one need only look at the pitiable state of National Semiconductor. After announcing third-quarter revenues that were down 31 percent from the previous quarter and 36 percent from the same period a year earlier, the company said today it would sack more than a quarter of its workforce.
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National Semi to Workforce: “What Color is Your Parachute?”

in News on March 11, 2009 at 7:53 am PT

To see just how badly the continuing erosion of consumer confidence is affecting the chip industry, one need only look at the pitiable state of National Semiconductor. After announcing third-quarter revenues that were down 31 percent from the previous quarter and 36 percent from the same period a year earlier, the company said today it would sack more than a quarter of its workforce.
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Bernstein Downgrades Amazon, eBay on Macro Concerns

in News on December 19, 2008 at 6:03 am PT

Bernstein analyst Jeffrey Lindsay has cut his ratings on both Amazon and eBay, noting that the large majority of goods on both sites are discretionary purchases, and that–of course–the current environment has people focusing more on worries about unemployment and home foreclosure than spending money on nonessential goods.

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Online Xmas Spending: So Far, Not So Good

in News on November 25, 2008 at 6:00 pm PT

You will not be shocked to learn that online holiday spending is not off to a good start. ComScore today reports that for the first 23 days of November, e-commerce spending–excluding travel, auctions and large corporate purchases–was down four percent from the same period last year. 2007 saw a 19 percent rise in spending–all predictions point to this year being flat. It’s going to be a long winter.

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Corning to Cut Wholly Owned Glass Capacity 30-40 Percent

in News on October 29, 2008 at 11:20 am PT

Corning will cut the production capacity of its glass business by 30-40 percent due to a lack of demand in the LCD television market. It wasn’t until after Labor Day that the decline reached the sector, though fears about the economy have been growing all year.

Analyst: The Great Dark Times Cometh!

in News on October 3, 2008 at 5:19 pm PT

The financial markets’ descent into the maelstrom over the past several weeks is proving quite a test of faith for Collins Stewart analyst Sandeep Aggarwal. Last week he cut his estimates for Yahoo, citing the company’s deteriorating fundamentals. Since then he’s become increasingly dismayed by Wall Street’s continued collapse.

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Nokia Tumbles, Warns It Will Lose Share in Q3; Other Handset Stocks Also Lower

in News on September 5, 2008 at 6:15 am PT

Nokia (NOK) this morning warned that it now expects its mobile device market share in the third quarter to be down from the second quarter. The company had previously said it expected its share of the market to be sequentially flat.