Insolvent German chipmaker Qimonda's deal to sell its GDDR technology to Japan's Elpida Memory is valued in the low double-digit million euro range, a person close to one of the companies said.

Microsoft's newest operating system for PCs will launch in late October, but it won't boost PC sales enough to help the global DRAM memory chip market until the second quarter of 2010.

LG Chem has consolidated its position as a global power in car batteries, in a deal with carmaker General Motors for its eco-friendly vehicle, Volt. Samsung SDI is following up with its own major deal with BMW, a German premier carmaker. But Japanese battery makers currently capture 95% of the nickel-metal hybrid batteries market.

China is on its way to becoming a solar power - with financial incentives coming from every corner of the country - but a lack of experienced project developers and equipment installers may cast a shadow over the growing industry.

Elpida Memory may sign up today (August 7) with the Development Bank of Japan, becoming eligible for about 30 billion yen (US$314 million) in government aid, Nikkei English News said.

Canadian Solar, a Chinese manufacturer of solar power modules, jumped in early New York trading after reporting a profit that exceeded analyst estimates. "They blew away expectations and seem to have gained a lot of market share," said Colin Rusch, an analyst at ThinkEquity LLC.

The Central Weather Bureau forecast the storm to make landfall in northeastern Taiwan ton the evening of August 7.

Initially expected to be ready by the end of 2009, the PCI Express 3.0 specification has been officially delayed and will not see the light of day until second-quarter 2010, according to PCI-SIG.

Acer will expand into televisions and electronic books within five years as the PC industry slows, founder Stan Shih has said.

As part of the recent Microhoo deal, Microsoft will hire 400 Yahoo employees and pay the Web giant $50 million annually for three years. Also, If Microsoft cannot deliver to a certain percentage of Google's success, Yahoo can back out of the deal.

GaAs epiwafer foundry Kopin is investing an additional US$6.3 million in its Asian foundry venture, Kopin Taiwan.

Goldman Sachs, which earns more money trading equities than any other US bank, sent a letter to clients explaining its high-frequency trading as regulators and politicians step up scrutiny of the practice.

Seagate Technology said it will close its Singapore hard-disk-drive manufacturing plant by the end of 2010 and lay off 2,000 workers as a result.

The Chinese authorities in July predicted 8% growth for 2009, thanks to a four trillion yuan (US$585 billion) economic stimulus plan. But the global downturn has still put millions of Chinese out of work.

GT Solar International's fiscal first-quarter profits jumped 51% on surging margins and higher revenues. The company said it was "on track" to meet its fiscal-year targets. But revenues grew at its slowest pace in roughly a year and sales came in far short analysts' expectations.

OCZ Technology has confirmed it will release its Colossus solid-state drive (SSD) in the next couple of weeks, delivering the first 3.5-inch form factor SSD with 1TB of capacity.

Chipmaker Altera has cut about 3% of its 2,700 person work force, according to a filing Tuesday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Toshiba has slashed a forecast for operating profit and sales next fiscal year made before the global recession drove the company to post its first net loss in seven years. It will also cut capital spending to 1.1 trillion yen for 2009 to 2011, from 1.64 trillion yen in the preceding three-year period.

First Solar has announced 2Q09 profits that exceeded industry expectations, but its share price fell on news that it would offer rebates in Germany and maintain, rather than raise, its full-year outlook.