Corning, Samsung Corning Precision Materials and the AMLCD division of Samsung Electronics have renewed, for five more years, the two main agreements for their businesses.

In September alone, some 16,000 households had solar panels installed - twice as many as in June - as everyone from farmers to vicars to Mick Jagger (plus thousands of other canny home owners with 瞿12,000 to spare) scrambled to take advantage of generous government subsidies.

The Department of Energy (DOE) has approved a total of seven solar-power projects toward the end of 2011, according to records of the department.

Mark Durcan became interim CEO hours after Appleton died Friday, in accordance with Micron's bylaws. Micron's board wasted no time in making the job permanent Saturday, ensuring no gap in leadership at the top of a company that employs 6,000 people in the Treasure Valley.

Advanced Micro Devices has disclosed at an analyst event that it had begun manufacturing of its chips at IBM's facilities. The partnership is believed to ensure AMD's ability to supply its next-generation A-series Fusion chips code-named "Trinity" to PC makers and be in position to compete against Intel's Core i-series future products.

Meanwhile, the South Korean companies surpassed the Japanese companies in IC marketshare for the first time in 2011, IC Insights said in its recent report.

Panasonic Corp. forecast a record net loss of JPY780 billion for the current year, making it the latest consumer electronics giant to predict declining earnings because of the stronger yen, a slower global economy and the floods in Thailand.

Micron Technology has announced the death of Chairman and CEO Steve Appleton in a small plane accident in Boise. Mr. President and COO Mark Durcan will assume the responsibilities of CEO until a successor is appointed.

Dow Corning's JV polysilicon subsidiary, Hemlock Semiconductor was impacted by overcapacity in 2011.

The owner of the glass manufacturer Pilkington, Nippon Sheet Glass (NSG), says it will close one of its three UK production lines as it cuts costs.

Locally based GreenStar, an LED lighting manufacturer, has signed a contract with Houston-based Toshiba International Corp.

As part of REC Groups previously announced closure of certain wafer and cell production plants in Norway, a sale of the equipment from three plants is to be organised by surplus asset management firm, GoIndustry Dovebid.

Price declines accelerated in the latter part of the fourth quarter, CFO Judy Bruner said on a conference call. That, along with lower orders from some mobile-phone customers, will hurt sales in the first quarter, she said.

Facebook has filed for an initial public offering that could value the social network between US$75 billion and US$100 billion, putting the company on track for one of the biggest US stock-market debuts of all time.

Faraday will optimize a complete IP portfolio for UMC processes ranging from 0.11-micron to 28nm nodes to help mutual customers shorten their SoC design time-to-market for a variety of applications.

Mobile phone chip maker Qualcomm said Wednesday that its fiscal first-quarter profit rose 16% as rising global demand for smartphones boosted sales.

Fears Germany will cap or cut green energy subsidies is boosting demand for solar panels, and uncertainty about the shape of the measures could give the country's battered solar sector an advantage against Chinese rivals.

JA Solar is the first Chinese PV producer to set up a TV SD certified TMP (Testing at Manufacturers' Premises) laboratory to enable faster and more cost-effective product certifications.

DuPont and Suntech Power Holdings announced that they had entered into a strategic agreement with an overall goal of augmenting the supply of PV materials and technologies in the global solar energy market.