Singapore's economy probably shrank this quarter after six months of growth. Manufacturing output, which accounts for about a quarter of Singapore's economy, fell 8.2% in November from a year earlier.

The lawsuit was filed in October after Google scanned one of Mian Mian's books, Acid House, into its library. She is seeking damages of 61,000 yuan (US$8,950) and a public apology.

Copper on the London Metal Exchange traded above US$7,300 a tonne on Wednesday (Dec. 30, 2009) - its highest level since September 2008.

Semiconductor makers must take the lead in evolving the tools and business processes that allow the electronics industry to benefit from the efficiency improvements and risk reduction associated with truly collaborative supply chain management.

"The ITC affirmed the validity of our asserted patents. We are disappointed, however, with the determinations regarding our infringement methodology and patent exhaustion," said Tessera CEO. "We will have an opportunity to appeal this ruling..."

Research in Motion, the Canadian company that makes the Blackberry smart phone, plans to open an operation in the Triangle next year

South Korea's antitrust agency on Dec. 30, 2009 said it has found no evidence to back allegations that makers of flash memory chips were engaged in international price fixing, after investigating the issue for nearly three years.

Major South Korean exporters all got a nice boost from the weakness of the country's currency in the past two years. But with the Korean won gaining strength, will Korean exporters begin to lose some of the market share they accumulated in the past year?

Toshiba has developed a trilingual translation system with voice recognition and synthesis that's compact and light enough to be installed in a cell phone.

The lawsuit, initiated by Infineon in November 2008, focus on 14 patents related to super-junction power transistors along with trench power MOSFETs and IGBT power transistors.

Lee Kun-hee is to be pardoned so he can return to the International Olympics Committee and help South Korea's bid to host the 2018 Winter Olympics. The former chairman of Samsung was convicted of embezzlement and tax evasion.