Intel (INTC), AMD (AMD), NVIDIA (NVDA) Getting Crunched

Reports from Japan that they may shutdown production for polycrystalline silicon and silicon wafer makers in the country for one month, has shares of Intel (INTC) and AMD (AMD) under pressure, while NVIDIA (NVDA) was also getting hit hard.

The reason for the possible shutdown is the Japanese government is putting into play a power brownout policy which could affect the manufacturers of polycrystalline silicon and silicon wafers.

That would result in companies in the semiconductor industry running out of poly-Si supply very quickly.

Intel was trading at $20.14, down $0.70, or 3.38 percent, as of 12:02 PM EDT. AMD was trading at $8.32, falling $0.11, or 1.30 percent. Both companies have rebounded from earlier in the session. NVIDIA was trading at $17.88, down $0.32, or 1.76 percent. They also have pushed up some as the day goes on.

AIG (AIG), First Solar (FSLR), JC Penney (JCP) All Plunge

While the overall market looks better Friday than it has in several days, shares of AIG (AIG), First Solar (FSLR) and JC Penney (JCP) have all dropped over 5 percent on the day.

Stocks climbed Friday, breaking three consecutive sessions of losses, led by the tech and financial sectors and as oil prices stabilized at lower levels.

The major indices are poised to end the week with their worst weekly percentage decline since August. However, they continue to be in positive territory for the month and year.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up almost 60 points, after ending slightly lower in the previous session.

Intel (INTC) and Boeing (BA) led Dow components higher, while Wal-Mart (WMT) and Pfizer (PFE) fell.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq also advanced. The CBOE Volatility Index, widely considered the best gauge of fear in the market, sank almost 10 percent to trade below 20.

All key S&P 500 sectors were higher, led by financials, technology and materials.





Full Story

Intel (INTC) Investing $5 Billion in Semiconductor Plant in Arizona

Intel Corp. (NASDAQ:INTC) announced plans on Friday to build a $5 billion manufacturing facility, Fab 42, in Chandler. The facility will be open in 2013.

Intel Corp. executives announced Friday that the semiconductor manufacturer plans to build a $5 billion factory in Arizona that could bring in at least 1,000 permanent jobs in addition to thousands of construction jobs.

Intel plans to build Fab 42 in Chandler as the highest-volume chip plant in the world. Construction is expected to begin near the middle of this year and be completed in 2013.

The announcement for the new fab came Friday as Intel (Nasdaq:INTC) opened its latest facility in Hillsboro, Ore.

Rest of Story ...

Intel's (INTC) Lock on Computer Market Over Says Piper Jaffray

With the soon introduction of Motorola Mobility’s (MMI) “Lapdock,” Piper Jaffray analyst Gus Richard says Intel's (NASDAQ:INTC) lock on the computer market is now over.

The Lapdock is simply a screen and keyboard wherein the "Atric phone of Motorola Mobility can be inserted. The point isn't necessarily this particular phone and combination being the Intel PC dominance killer, but rather the concept itself.

Richards said, “This paradigm devastates the x86 and Intel’s lock on the computing market.”

What Richards means is a mobile phone can now be used as a new computing platform, bypassing the need for Intel's computer chips.

The point isn't that the PC is going to disappear, but growth is no longer in that direction for Intel.

Intel was trading at $22.19, gaining $0.22, or 1.00 percent, as of 12:51 PM EST.