"The operation of our 8-inch DRAM line in Austin, Texas, will be stopped from October due to production inefficiencies. We will upgrade the line to a 12-inch facility," company spokesman Kenneth Hong told The Korea Times.

The world's Number-2 handset maker is focusing on improving its weaknesses - low-priced phones and high-priced smartphones

South Korea recorded real GDP growth of 2.3% on quarter in the second quarter of 2009—a stronger performance than the Economist Intelligence Unit expected.

Samsung Group's former chairman Lee Kun Hee was found guilty of breach-of-duty for his role in causing losses at Samsung SDS.

More than 390 people are believed to have been buried alive in the Taiwanese village worst affected by a massive mudslide caused by a typhoon.

"During the boom, there were significant capacity increases. There were also, by the way, significant announcements of capacity that may or may not have happened..."

Applied Materials said orders for wafer fab equipment spiked in the final month of its third fiscal quarter, ending July 26. Foundries increased spending sharply, and display manufacturers are also looking at better times driven by flat panel TV sales, according to company CEO Mike Splinter.

Inspur, a China-based IT solutions provider and server manufacturer, has agreed to acquire Qimonda's Xi'an R&D center for 30 million yuan (US$4.4 million).

The latest rumor: Japan's Elpida Memory is looking to buy Spansion's wireless chip unit for US$200-300 million. A spokeswoman from Elpida declined to comment. Spansion did not respond to e-mails.

A US federal court has ordered Microsoft to pay over US$290m for wilfully infringing on a patent by Canadian firm i4i.