You expect CEOs to don their rose-colored glasses when speaking of market rebounds. After all, these big shots definitely have an agenda to push.
But independent research firms don't have that problem. So now that well-respected IT analysis firm Gartner says that the semiconductor market is set for a rebound, maybe it's time for the skeptics to start believing in a bounce.
And it all starts at the bottom of the stack. Gartner says that the market for semiconductor manufacturing equipment has bottomed out and will return to full health in a gradual, measured manner.
As semiconductor designers everywhere, from Intel
That's obviously great news for equipment sellers like Applied Materials
Follow that logic one more step, and you'll find optimism about the consumer market. Someone like Apple
Count me among the optimists here. The full-market recovery from silicon grinders through chip-shippers to gadget gurus may take a couple of years, but it seems to have started. The time to invest for maximum effect would be right now.
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