Huawei – Window dressing pt. II

No way back. The repercussions of the latest US restrictions (see here) are likely to go both far and wide through the Chinese technology industry slowing its development and putting Huawei even more at a disadvantage than it already was. Huawei’s fate in cellular networks and equipment was pretty much sealed a couple of years ago when the USA implemented...

  • Comments Off on Huawei – Window dressing pt. II
  • 122

Twitter – X marks the spot?

X is the only place to go. Much has been made of Mr Musk’s plans to create a super app called ‘X’ with Twitter as its starting point, but the reality of numbers demonstrates that this is probably the only way that any money will be made from acquiring Twitter for $44bn. Twitter is what RFM refers to as a...

  • Comments Off on Twitter – X marks the spot?
  • 349

Semiconductors – Supercycle pt. VIII

Samsung and AMD join the chorus. Weak results from Samsung and a profit warning from AMD are more signs that demand is weakening which in the face of all-time highs in capital expenditure could tip the sector into a sharp downturn. Samsung reported preliminary Q3 2022 results that missed expectations almost certainly as a result of weakness in semiconductors with...

  • Comments Off on Semiconductors – Supercycle pt. VIII
  • 217

USA vs China – Turn of the screw pt. II

The USA goes beyond semis in its war on Chinese technology. The USA is about to ramp up the pressure still further on China’s semiconductor industry which marks a departure from just targeting semiconductors to targeting the other technologies where China, until now, has been doing very well. The US Department of Commerce is expected to publish new guidelines which...

  • Comments Off on USA vs China – Turn of the screw pt. II
  • 104

Twitter – The price of free speech pt. VIII.

Musk caves. Elon Musk has realised that he is very likely to lose his court case against Twitter meaning that he has again offered to buy the company for $44bn ($54.20 per share) but the transaction is going to be even more expensive now than when he originally made the offer. There are two big winners from this event: First,...

  • Comments Off on Twitter – The price of free speech pt. VIII.
  • 325

Semiconductors – Politics not economics.

Geopolitics is firmly in the driving seat. Samsung has announced its intentions to triple its foundry business from 2021 as well as migrate from 5nm to 1.4nm within a 5-year time horizon in another sign that the foundry opportunity and the build-out of leading-edge is being driven by geopolitics rather than economics. Samsung is holding its annual Foundry Forum in...

  • Comments Off on Semiconductors – Politics not economics.
  • 123

Mobileye IPO – Tough sell.

Intel is a committed seller. Mobileye has filed its S-1 with the SEC announcing its intention to relist but looking at how much growth has slowed and how low its margins are, indicates that even the reduced valuation of $30bn is going to be a stretch. Mobileye started life as a chip company selling camera-based ADAS systems to the automobile...

  • Comments Off on Mobileye IPO – Tough sell.
  • 140

Tech sector Q4 22 – Hatches battened

China may be the dark horse in Q4 2022. The technology sector is battening down the hatches for a rough Q4 2022 with the only bright spot potentially being the lifting of Covid Zero in China after the 20th National Congress of the CCP and a re-rating of the moribund Chinese technology sector. Micron reported in-line FQ4 2022 results but...

  • Comments Off on Tech sector Q4 22 – Hatches battened
  • 161

Amazon – Hardware bonanza

New clothes do not make Alexa any better. Amazon launched a plethora of devices that aim to strengthen its grip on the smart home, home and small office security, wellness and reading/note taking but there is no sign of Alexa getting any cleverer which at the end of the day is what Amazon really needs. Amazon held its annual device...

  • Comments Off on Amazon – Hardware bonanza
  • 215

Intel – The bandage

Intel puts AMD in its box. Intel has finally launched new products that have a shot at putting AMD back in its box but the real competitor for Intel to deal with is no longer AMD but Arm. Intel launched its Raptor Lake series of processors the flagship of which is the Core i9-13900K touting 24 cores and clock speeds...

  • Comments Off on Intel – The bandage
  • 196