It has been a tough year so far for the semiconductor industry, caught between pandemic-driven disruptions to production and workforces, and geopolitical headwinds. Now, global economic crisis threatens to dampen demand for electronics in key markets from smartphones to cars. Intel’s second quarter results epitomized the challenges facing the industry, as well as some of the chip giant’s specific problems, as it reported a 22% year-on-year fall in sales to $15.3bn, and a $500m net loss that reversed profit of $5.1bn a year ago. The company’s gross margin fell by 20.6 percentage points to 36.5%. Market analysts were most concerned by the lack of a profit warning in advance from Intel, and the 16% year-on-year decline in revenues from the…