TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Chip Orders Accelerate: The Semiconductor Industry Assn. said the pace of computer chip orders picked up in January, with the seasonally adjusted book-to-bill ratio rising to 1.10 from 1.07 in December. A ratio of 1.10 means $110 in new orders were booked for every $100 in orders billed. The ratio is computed by weighing a given month’s billings and bookings with seasonal patterns from prior years, the trade association said. This marks the first time the group has adjusted the figures to account for seasonal fluctuation. North America market bookings in January were $3.50 billion, 2.1% above December’s $3.43 billion. The group said January bookings were 41.6% higher than the $2.47 billion of January, 1994.