As the Asian flu hovers over the world economy, its full effect on the electronics industry hasn't yet been determined. While the economies of Japan and Korea remain sluggish, the industry also feels pressure from the continuing decline of memory-chip prices and abundant manufacturing capacity. Makers of chip-production equipment haven't been untouched, but have seen their margins eroded by a rash of order cancellations as chip makers pull back on capital spending.

Our Midyear Forecast examines how the industry is dealing with the Asian flu. Our editors from around the globe report on the regional markets of the United States, Europe, Asia and Japan. Industry chief executive officers give the business picture of their sectors and of the industry at large, and several can be heard in RealAudio clips. And industry analysts bring their perspectives to key industry segments.

We are also offering an interactive service that lets you access up-to-the-minute stock quotes and financial information of companies in the industry. The EE Times Top 100 Systems OEMs recognizes companies that our editors and staff have identified as key integrators in the business — the state-of-the-art users of the components and devices that make up the electronics industry. Suppliers such as Intel Corp. and Microsoft Corp. each hold places on the list because they have major systems units. The Leading IC Companies shows the world's IC sales leaders for 1997, ranked by IC Insights Inc. (Scottsdale, Ariz.).The top 25 IC companies made almost 80 percent or over $108 billion of the world's IC sales that year, according to IC Insights. The Major EDA Companies lists the world's leading EDA companies, according to 1997 sales revenue. Compiled by EE Times with information from Dataquest Inc., the list includes public companies and several that are privately held. Still others are divisions of large electronics companies.