Hynix Semiconductor has revised upward its capex budget for 2010 to 2.3 trillion won (US$1.95 billion), according to its company filing with the Korea Exchange. In October, it set a goal of more than 1.5 trillion won.

For the first time in 2009, non-Americans were granted more US patents than resident inventors, accounting for 50.7% of new grants, according to recent data from the Patent & Trademark Office.

3D integration investments continue unabated despite the economic downturn, according to analysts from Yole Developpement and TechSearch International.

Falling DDR2 prices in the spot market seems to support why DRAM manufacturers were unable to negotiate any further price increases in the contract segment for the past two contracts. Demand for DDR3 is still strong, and Converge believes it will continue to increase as we head into 2010.

Samsung has agreed to pay Kodak an undisclosed sum to settle a patent dispute over digital-camera technology.

In the US, we've seen chipmakers shut down their fabs one-by-one over the years. How can we reverse that trend? One possible solution: Why not tell the Asian silicon foundries (TSMC, UMC, SMIC, etc.) that they must build fabs in the US?

Infineon Technologies has said revenues will grow by a better-than-expected "high single digit" in the quarter ending December 31, 2009 on improved sales in the automotive and industrial units.

China's growth may surge to as much as 12% in 2010, thanks to a rebound in exports and domestic spending.

Micron Technology swung to a fiscal first-quarter profit—its first in three years—on higher sales volumes and prices as well as a large prior-year write-down.

Micron said that it will be ''shortly'' sampling a 2x-nm NAND device. It did not specify the exact node, but some expect the company will disclose more details in early 2010.

Hynix Semiconductor expects to be profitable in 2010 after posting huge losses in the early part of this year, in an indication that an industry downturn is ending and memory-chip business is poised for a recovery.

The analyst said that recent checks lead her to believe there will be a "significantly better than expected" demand for PCs in the beginning of the year -- something she expects will help balance out supply and demand for DRAM.