In Display Monitor back in March 2010, we reported on a talk by Paul Kedrosky, an economist from the US, at the US FPD conference in which he said that 'the function of governments is to delay the inevitable' (and he also said that there could be a major restructuring in the eurozone!). That comment came back to me this week as I have been watching the efforts of governments in Europe to cope with the current crisis. I have heard the actions of the eurozone governments described as 'kicking the can down the road' and that also has resonance!

I shivered this week when I heard that the markets had been negative about buying German government bonds. On the other hand, an understanding by the country that fundamental change in the way that the zone is inevitable might help the zone to get the re-structuring that the zone desperately needs.

I thought of the comment again when I was reading the story this week about the initiative of the Taiwanese government to foster discussions between the panel makers, AUO and CMI. David Barnes, who I often quote in this publication, has pointed out that the development of scale in the LCD industry has not delivered a great advantage to those that have developed the scale. There is an advantage, but it is small and is probably more about the ability to develop technology rather than simple cost saving based on volume.

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