As of the end of June 2011, it had US$76 billion in cash and investments. No tech company has more.

Global sales of LCD televisions this year will be well below earlier market estimates of 220 million units, flat-screen maker LG Display's chief executive said, due to economic uncertainty.

Japanese consumer electronics giant Sharp Corporation and Taiwan's Hon Hai Precision Industry Ltd - more famously known for its subsidiary Foxconn which manufactures some of the world's most popular products including the iPhone and iPad for Apple, as well as the Playstation 3 (PS3) for Sony - have joined forces to cut the costs of LCD TV panel supply. Both parties hope that this alliance will enable them to compete more effectively against South Korean rivals like Samsung and LG.

Sales of PCs with Windows to businesses actually rose 8% in the quarter ended June 30, but could not offset weak demand among consumers, particularly in so-called developed markets, according to Microsoft. Sales of lightweight netbook computers with Windows fell 41% in the period.

This particular poker game had a twist - the ante went up every hand and you had to play every hand. If you left the table, you were out of the game. Does the analogy hold true today?

BP Solar is closing its U.S. manufacturing facility and will refocus is business on developing solar power projects rather than making panels for them, a company spokesman said on Thursday.

Citing strong global smartphone adoption and the "expanded opportunities" afforded by its completed acquisition of Wi-Fi chipmaker Atheros, Qualcomm also raised its revenue and (non-GAAP) earnings guidance for the rest of the year.

According to a report soon to be published in Solar Energy, the official journal of the International Solar Energy Society, solar photovoltaic (PV) panels on roofs are also doing a surprisingly good, if unexpected, job of keeping houses and buildings cooler in summer and warmer in winter.

Solar energy is gaining fans in homeowners who aren't just tree huggers - they're penny pinchers.

A $1.2 billion write-down by solar equipment maker REC on Tuesday highlighted the pain being inflicted by aggressive Chinese competition and may herald wider consolidation in the sector and flattening of prices.

"Demand growth is likely to be weaker than usual in the third quarter, as customers are delaying purchases due to slow global economic growth," Hynix said.

The company's revenue outlook for the current quarter was also higher than what Wall Street anticipated.

That Apple is making a follow-up to the iPad 2 is no surprise. That it might be sourcing one of the most important components from a company it's currently involved in a massive legal spat with makes for an interesting story.

Prices of LED lamps and luminaires have almost halved in the past 6-9 months, thanks to a fall in global prices of their chips and local production by Philips.

General Electric Co. has provided capital, alongside other investors, to Nuventix, the creator of an LED cooling technology for energy-efficient lighting.

Solar panels on building roofs don't just provide clean energy they also cool the building, according to researchers at the University of California San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering.

Suppliers of photovoltaic modules have suffered from gross margins falling by more than 25 percent this year. That's according to IMS Research, which said there's a tough price war in the industry with supplier not able to cut costs as much as prices, so eroding the margins.

The European Photovoltaic Industry Association (EPIA) will, for the first time, bring together industry leaders and the financial community for a Photovoltaic Investors Day on September 6.

Renewable Energy Corporation, one of the world's biggest makers of solar power equipment, said the worst was over for the solar industry after a sharp drop in prices this year resulted in heavy second-quarter losses for the Norwegian group.

At the Semicon West trade show, ESI announced an ascribing system that maximizes LED light output, a packaging system that utilizes a laser to drill vias in the die, and a tester than can handle 48,000 LEDs per hour.

Samsung Electronics and LG Display, the world's two largest makers of liquid crystal displays (LCDs), are close to securing big orders from Apple, industry sources said.

China-based solar equipment maker LDK Solar Co Ltd said on Monday the chairman of its audit committee had resigned, and its shares fell to their lowest level in a year.

Silicon Valley is one of the world's cleantech big-idea centers but so far it's been Chinese manufacturers -- not valley entrepreneurs -- who are dominating the global solar industry. The Chinese are winning by driving down production costs through incremental innovation, said Zhengrong Shi, founder and CEO of China-based Suntech Power, the world's largest producer of solar panels.

The Italian utility network authority has published a list of the photovoltaic installations that qualify for governmental solar subsidies this year. However, the prerequisite is that they are connected to the grid in time.

A recent survey of 344 senior financial executives by Gartner and two financial management associations found that CFOs "authorized" 26% of IT investments.

Support for the latest UEFI specifications also means that American Megatrends' (AMI) Aptio core 4.6.5.1 is fully ready to support Microsoft Windows 8 and the key security and pre-boot optimizations anticipated in the next-generation version of the OS.

The US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) said that added security measures may include "interaction with passengers," pat-downs and "the use of enhanced tools and technologies."

Lenovo outpaced Acer to become the number 3 vendor worldwide, according to IDC. Acer's shipments continued to decline from a year ago, but at a slower pace than in the first quarter as the company was affected by a review of inventory handling, as well uncertainties from its recent management shake-up.

Acer dropped from No. 2 to the No. 4 position in the worldwide PC market in the second quarter of 2011, according to Gartner. It had a great deal of inventory in the distribution channel in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region. Acer's problems stemmed from its low-price, high-volume business model, which is no longer effective.

Samsung showed off its 2011 monitor lineup and I definitely came away impressed. From movies, to gaming, to professional needs and business, Samsung is swinging a large swath in a very wide arc, but based on my time with its offerings, I can say it is not slipping on quality.