Commodities markets were hit by fears of suppressed demand yesterday, with copper falling to a 10-week low after China acted at the weekend to take some of the heat out of its rapidly expanding economy.
Chinese monetary authorities on Sunday announced they had tightened the amount required by state banks to be held in reserve by another 50 basis points to 17 per cent, marking the third such rise this year.
“The policy stance is likely to become more hawkish before we see signs of inflation peaking. Therefore, fear of further policy tightening is likely to weigh on markets for some months to come,” said Wensheng Peng at Barclays Capital.
China’s seemingly insatiable appetite for raw materials has driven commodity markets higher through much of the past year, in spite of economies in the US and Europe having only recently emerged from recession.
Copper, usually considered the benchmark for base metals, was driven up to two-year highs in mid-April on the back of surging demand from China.
But on London’s Metal Exchange it has fallen more than 7 per cent in the past three weeks on rising concerns over China’s moves to cool its economy and fears that the sovereign debt crisis in the eurozone will spread and damp demand.
Trade was closed on the LME yesterday for a public holiday, while the Shanghai exchange was also shut.
However, in electronic trade on New York’s Comex, copper was down 2 per cent to $3.2855 a pound, its lowest point since February 26.
Oil prices were supported by the oil spill in US Gulf of Mexico, as two offshore production platforms in the area were closed for safety reasons, and fears rose that shipping in the region might also be affected.
Signs of improving growth in the US and eurozone helped keep a floor under crude prices, following Friday’s gross domestic product data from the US and yesterday’s manufacturing report from eurozone purchasing managers. By Neil Dennis
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May 4, 2010
May 3, 2010
Low-cost, more efficient solar cells mostly plastic
PORTLAND, Ore. — By growing arrays of silicon wires in a polymer substrate, researchers have demonstrated what they say are flexible solar cells that absorb up to 96 percent of incident light.
Photomicrograph of a silicon wire array embedded within a transparent, flexible polymer film. Credit: Caltech/Michael Kelzenberg
California Institute of Technology (Caltech) researchers said the wires are made up of 98 percent plastic, potentially lowering the cost of photovoltaics by using just 1/50th the amount of semiconductor material used today. In tests, the experimental solar cells demonstrated over 90 percent quantum efficiency.
"By developing light-trapping techniques for relatively sparse wire arrays, not only did we achieve suitable absorption, but we also demonstrated effective optical concentration," claimed Harry Atwater, director of Caltech's Resnick Institute.
The silicon wires measure just 1 micron in diameter, but can be as long as 100 microns and can be embedded in a transparent polymer. Light is converted into electricity only inside the wires, but light not immediately absorbed bounces around inside the matrix until it enters another wire. The result, researchers said, is both high concentration and high efficiency in the material.
Solar cells based on the technique could potentially be very inexpensive to manufacture since only 2 percent of the materials are expensive semiconductors while the remainder is made from inexpensive plastic.
The new material is about the same overall thickness as a conventional solar cells--about 100 microns--but contain as much silicon as a solar cell measuring just 2 microns in thickness.
Atwater said he is now working to increase the operating voltage and size of the solar cells so that they can eventually be manufactured in flexible sheets using inexpensive roll-to-roll fabrication equipment.
Funding for the Caltech research was provided by BP, the U.S. Energy Department, the National Science Foundation and the Kavli Nanoscience Institute at Caltech. R. Colin Johnson
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Photomicrograph of a silicon wire array embedded within a transparent, flexible polymer film. Credit: Caltech/Michael Kelzenberg
California Institute of Technology (Caltech) researchers said the wires are made up of 98 percent plastic, potentially lowering the cost of photovoltaics by using just 1/50th the amount of semiconductor material used today. In tests, the experimental solar cells demonstrated over 90 percent quantum efficiency.
"By developing light-trapping techniques for relatively sparse wire arrays, not only did we achieve suitable absorption, but we also demonstrated effective optical concentration," claimed Harry Atwater, director of Caltech's Resnick Institute.
The silicon wires measure just 1 micron in diameter, but can be as long as 100 microns and can be embedded in a transparent polymer. Light is converted into electricity only inside the wires, but light not immediately absorbed bounces around inside the matrix until it enters another wire. The result, researchers said, is both high concentration and high efficiency in the material.
Solar cells based on the technique could potentially be very inexpensive to manufacture since only 2 percent of the materials are expensive semiconductors while the remainder is made from inexpensive plastic.
The new material is about the same overall thickness as a conventional solar cells--about 100 microns--but contain as much silicon as a solar cell measuring just 2 microns in thickness.
Atwater said he is now working to increase the operating voltage and size of the solar cells so that they can eventually be manufactured in flexible sheets using inexpensive roll-to-roll fabrication equipment.
Funding for the Caltech research was provided by BP, the U.S. Energy Department, the National Science Foundation and the Kavli Nanoscience Institute at Caltech. R. Colin Johnson
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Winners, losers in 2009 foundry rankings
SAN JOSE, Calif. -- The 2009 downturn had a huge impact on the silicon foundry market and the top-10 rankings.
In fact, it was a rough year, as the overall foundry market fell by 11.2 percent in 2009, according to Gartner Inc. Here are the winners and losers in the top-10 ranking for 2009:
Winners: GlobalFoundries, Samsung
Losers: TSMC, UMC, Chartered, SMIC, IBM, Vanguard, Dongbu, TowerJazz, MagnaChip, X-Fab
In terms of share in 2009, TSMC was again in first place, followed in order by UMC, Chartered, GlobalFoundries, SMIC, IBM, Vanguard, Dongbu, TowerJazz and Samsung.
Except for GlobalFoundries and Samsung, the other players in the top-10 saw their respective sales fall in 2009. Many lost share as well.
''Companies such as X-Fab and MagnaChip were pushed out of the top 10 rankings by Globalfoundries and Samsung in 2009. Despite the severe downturn, TSMC, UMC, Chartered Semiconductor and Dongbu Electronics still managed to retain the same ranking status as in 2008. SMIC, IBM Microelectronics and Vanguard International Semiconductor, on the other hand, slipped one position lower, and TowerJazz dropped two places,'' said Kay-Yang Tan, an analyst from Gartner, in a report.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (TSMC) was in first place again, but the company's sales hit $8.997 billion in 2009, down 15.2 percent over 2008, according to Gartner. TSMC's share fell from 47 percent in 2008 to 44.8 percent in 2009.
Taiwan's United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC) was in second place again. The company's sales hit $2.730 billion in 2009, down 7.7 percent over 2008, according to Gartner. UMC's share jumped from 13.1 percent in 2008 to 13.6 percent in 2009.
GlobalFoundries Inc. emerged and became the No. 4 player in the foundry business in 2009, according to Gartner. GlobalFoundries, the manufacturing spinoff of Advanced Micro Devices Inc., last year also acquired Singapore's Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing Pte. Ltd.
Chartered was in third place in 2009. GlobalFoundries had sales of $1.101 billion in 2009, with 5.5 percent share, according to the firm.
China's Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. (SMIC) went from 4th place in 2008 to 5th place last year. The company's sales hit $1.070 billion in 2009, down 21 percent over 2008, according to Gartner. SMIC's share fell from 6 percent in 2008 to 5.3 percent in 2009.
IBM Microelectronics' unit went from 5th place in 2008 to 6th place last year. The company's sales hit $383 million in 2009, down 32.3 percent over 2008, according to Gartner. IBM's share fell from 2.5 percent in 2008 to 1.9 percent in 2009.
Taiwan's Vanguard International Semiconductor went from 6th place in 2008 to 7th place last year. The company's sales hit $381 million in 2009, down 26 percent over 2008, according to Gartner. Its share fell from 2.3 percent in 2008 to 1.9 percent in 2009.
South Korea's Dongbu Electronics remained in 8th place. The company's sales hit $370 million in 2009, down 14.4 percent over 2008, according to Gartner. Its share fell from 1.9 percent in 2008 to 1.8 percent in 2009.
Israel's TowerJazz went from 7th place in 2008 to 9th place last year. The company's sales hit $298 million in 2009, down 31.7 percent over 2008, according to Gartner. Its share fell from 1.9 percent in 2008 to 1.5 percent in 2009.
Korea's Samsung went from 23th place in 2008 to 10th place last year. The company's sales hit $290 million in 2009, up 130.2 percent over 2008, according to Gartner. Its share jumped from 0.6 percent in 2008 to 1.4 percent in 2009. By
Mark LaPedus
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In fact, it was a rough year, as the overall foundry market fell by 11.2 percent in 2009, according to Gartner Inc. Here are the winners and losers in the top-10 ranking for 2009:
Winners: GlobalFoundries, Samsung
Losers: TSMC, UMC, Chartered, SMIC, IBM, Vanguard, Dongbu, TowerJazz, MagnaChip, X-Fab
In terms of share in 2009, TSMC was again in first place, followed in order by UMC, Chartered, GlobalFoundries, SMIC, IBM, Vanguard, Dongbu, TowerJazz and Samsung.
Except for GlobalFoundries and Samsung, the other players in the top-10 saw their respective sales fall in 2009. Many lost share as well.
''Companies such as X-Fab and MagnaChip were pushed out of the top 10 rankings by Globalfoundries and Samsung in 2009. Despite the severe downturn, TSMC, UMC, Chartered Semiconductor and Dongbu Electronics still managed to retain the same ranking status as in 2008. SMIC, IBM Microelectronics and Vanguard International Semiconductor, on the other hand, slipped one position lower, and TowerJazz dropped two places,'' said Kay-Yang Tan, an analyst from Gartner, in a report.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (TSMC) was in first place again, but the company's sales hit $8.997 billion in 2009, down 15.2 percent over 2008, according to Gartner. TSMC's share fell from 47 percent in 2008 to 44.8 percent in 2009.
Taiwan's United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC) was in second place again. The company's sales hit $2.730 billion in 2009, down 7.7 percent over 2008, according to Gartner. UMC's share jumped from 13.1 percent in 2008 to 13.6 percent in 2009.
GlobalFoundries Inc. emerged and became the No. 4 player in the foundry business in 2009, according to Gartner. GlobalFoundries, the manufacturing spinoff of Advanced Micro Devices Inc., last year also acquired Singapore's Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing Pte. Ltd.
Chartered was in third place in 2009. GlobalFoundries had sales of $1.101 billion in 2009, with 5.5 percent share, according to the firm.
China's Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. (SMIC) went from 4th place in 2008 to 5th place last year. The company's sales hit $1.070 billion in 2009, down 21 percent over 2008, according to Gartner. SMIC's share fell from 6 percent in 2008 to 5.3 percent in 2009.
IBM Microelectronics' unit went from 5th place in 2008 to 6th place last year. The company's sales hit $383 million in 2009, down 32.3 percent over 2008, according to Gartner. IBM's share fell from 2.5 percent in 2008 to 1.9 percent in 2009.
Taiwan's Vanguard International Semiconductor went from 6th place in 2008 to 7th place last year. The company's sales hit $381 million in 2009, down 26 percent over 2008, according to Gartner. Its share fell from 2.3 percent in 2008 to 1.9 percent in 2009.
South Korea's Dongbu Electronics remained in 8th place. The company's sales hit $370 million in 2009, down 14.4 percent over 2008, according to Gartner. Its share fell from 1.9 percent in 2008 to 1.8 percent in 2009.
Israel's TowerJazz went from 7th place in 2008 to 9th place last year. The company's sales hit $298 million in 2009, down 31.7 percent over 2008, according to Gartner. Its share fell from 1.9 percent in 2008 to 1.5 percent in 2009.
Korea's Samsung went from 23th place in 2008 to 10th place last year. The company's sales hit $290 million in 2009, up 130.2 percent over 2008, according to Gartner. Its share jumped from 0.6 percent in 2008 to 1.4 percent in 2009. By
Mark LaPedus
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