US hedge funds bet on rise in demand for chips

Some large hedge funds have been buying shares of chipmakers such as Micron Technology after Tuesday's earthquake in Taiwan because of a possible rise in demand after power outages hurt chip manufacturers such as competitor Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, the Wall Street Journal said in its ``Heard on the Street'' column.

Some investors believe personal computer companies such as Dell Computer Corp and Compaq Computer Corp will have to pay more for parts because of the outages, and finding parts may be an issue if the power stays out long enough.

``We believe you are going to see a little backpedaling from the `no problem' stance that dominated during the first 48 hours after the quake,'' said Joe Osha, an analyst at Merrill Lynch, the Wall Street Journal reported.