(September 17, 2004) San Jose, Calif.&#8212North American-based manufacturers of semiconductor equipment posted $1.52 billion in orders in August 2004 and a book-to-bill ratio of 1.00, according to an August 2004 report published by SEMI. A book-to-bill of 1.00 means that $100 worth of orders were received for every $100 of product billed for the month.

(September 17, 2004) Sao Paulo, Brazil&#8212Intel Corp. CEO Craig Barrett ruled out building a chip manufacturing plant in Brazil, South America’s largest country, because of high labor costs. “There are other areas of the world that are more competitive,” Barrett told reporters at a news conference. He cited China, India and Russia as possibilities.