Taiwan Semiconductor seems to be improving

According to this report from Friday morning, executives at Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM) believe the semiconductor industry will have a “u-shaped” recovery.  They believe Q1 represents the low-point for the year.  Taiwan Semiconductor utilization is expected to be in the mid 40s for the quarter.  Rush orders have been reported in the Taiwanese press from Qualcomm (QCOM), Xilinx (XLNX), Altera (ALTR) and Mediatek to name a few.  Industry caution has been very high as customers have been running down their inventories to better align with a slowing environment for electronics of all shapes and sizes.  Citigroup is reiterating their buy rating on TSM, saying they’re likely to get back to break even sooner than expected.  They say the company likely overcut guidance and should beat their lowered guidance.