Intel Corp (INTC)

[FCguy]

Intel is one of what? 3 or 4 companies able to meet revenue scaling criteria for profitable fab operations in future process nodes? IBM is “short term” for fab operations -- even if I can’t say when. TI is no longer engaged in fabbing soa digital. GloFo? -- even with consolidation with Chartered I’m not sure they will scale revenue as required, (Just take a look at the Chartered financials) and given accounting rules, tax policy and cost structure, surely GloFo -- if they are to become successful -- is likely to use the Chartered beachhead to site capacity expansion in Asia?

That said, who other than Intel is likely to build soa foundries in the US? I’m paranoid enough to think SOA chip sourcing, including customs, is a national security imperative.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/27/science/27trojan.html?_r=1&8dpc

We have one company that has been able to prevail against IP theft, dumping, Asian tax “holidays”, and all the rest of the factors that have kept the playing field tilted. Have they done that by being “nice”? I suspect not. Broken a rule or two? I suspect so. Yet this year they again committed billions to US operations.

Is anyone surprised the EU, the Koreans etc. want to beat them up?

Are we really so shortsighted that we would help in that attack, particularly when the primary complaining company (1) is dominantly owned by Abu Dhabi, (2) has it’s primary operations in Germany and (soon) Singapore, and (3) despite asset sale and reorganization remains a financial basket case?

Last I heard most feel that real US recovery requires the US to make things domestically and export those products oversees. Who fits that model better than Intel?

Without regard to the merit of the NY action, or how the FTC may act is there any doubt that we are sending an “open season” signal to the rest of the world?

Simply all part of a sea change -- we have so lost the initiative that a major consolidation of two US companies now rides on EU approval. Can we not see the forest for the trees? Just one man’s opinion but seems that we can’t.