One of the main reasons that trends in the chip industry are a reflection of the world economy is that chips are now a part of just about every device, from computers to toasters. If silicon isn't moving, it generally means that the products that use processors aren't moving, which implies that folks don't have the money to buy new gadgets. On that front, Taiwan's United Microelectronics Corp (UMC) has some bad news for us. The company says it doesn't expect the demand for microchips to improve until next year, according to a story in Monday's Asian Wall Street Journal . This prophecy of doom comes as a surprise because Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, the number one contract chipmaker in the world, recently predicted an upturn in chip sales in Q3 2001. Since UMC is the world's second biggest contract chipmaker, only time will tell which company is correct in their predictions.