Samsung FINALLY cuts capex

According to the Korea Times, Samsung intends to cut capex for 2009 "by more than 50 percent". This has been anticipated for several months. This will likely be perceived as positive news for memory stocks like Sandisk (SNDK) and MU (Micron). Micron and Nanya are also officially going to the Taiwanese government with a bailout request of NT $40 - 50 billion (US $1.2 – 1.5 billion).

Samsung has been overproducing memory for a couple of years now. Sheer egotism and girth has kept them spending. Perhaps they thought they could drive some smaller Taiwan players out of business and the impending government intervention in the memory market has made them rethink their strategy. Whatever the cause, they're going to throttle back spending significantly and that's a much needed relief for the memory market.