China's industrial output has slowed, according to the latest figures from the country's statistical bureau.

Synaptics has posted solid year-over-year sales and earnings growth despite the tough economy thanks to its involvement in two hot product categories, notebook computers and smartphones.

Retailers logged a second straight month of sales declines in April as consumers continued to pull back on all types of unessential purchases, the government reported Wednesday.

As more banks raise money to repay bailout loans, that means big fees for Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase and Morgan Stanley.

Berlin-based Solon has announced its first quarter of 2009 ended March 31, 2009 fell short of expectations. The long and harsh winter in southern Germany had a negative impact on demand for solar energy systems, as did the continuing lack of sufficient funding for larger photovolatics projects.

Suntech Power and Schott Solar announce plans for new US production plants as demand for panels continues to climb.

Applied Materials executives said customer confidence is improving, but cautioned that the company is seeing "a very dynamic environment" in all of its major segments. China's stimulus plans may continue to support cellphone and PC consumption there, said CEO Mike Splinter following release of fiscal Q2 financial results.

Electronic manufacturers, including Toshiba and Hitachi, are planning to consolidate flat-panel television factories outside Japan and expand outsourcing to cut costs, the Nikkei business daily reported.

Finnish operator Elisa and Nokia Siemens Networks have successfully demonstrated a new technology that allows operators to simply and cost effectively increase voice capacity of their 3G networks, potentially up to 100%.

AMD's spun-off manufacturing arm, Globalfoundries, reportedly has convinced Subramani Kengeri to join its team. Kengeri comes from manufacturing giant TSMC and was one of the key people behind the recently announced TSMC/Intel deal.

Semiconductor equipment maker Applied Materials swung to a loss in the fiscal second-quarter as sales plunged a less-than-feared 53% in a tough environment for the chip sector.

Australia's government will invest A$4.5 billion ($3.4 billion) in the development of infrastructure to generate energy from clean sources such as solar and wind power and to reduce carbon emissions.

After a massive capex splurge on its semiconductor division over the last three years, Toshiba is radically cutting back its chip investments over the coming year.

The pace of Taiwan's economic decline has slowed down, but a much-anticipated rebound is still far way, the chairman of one of Taiwan's biggest companies said Monday.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke defended Monday the central bank's recent stress tests of the nation's most important banks, and mounted an unusual defense of the US dollar.

The two biggest producers, Samsung Electronics and Hynix Semiconductor, won larger shares of the shrinking market in DRAM chips in the first quarter, industry research firm DRAMeXchange said on Monday.

The LCD maker wants to utilize its display experience to create a 3G smartphone, but analysts are skeptical of its chances to knock off Nokia or Samsung.