Google has added its voice to the case against Microsoft as the European Commission probes antitrust charges related to the software giant's Internet Explorer browser. In January, European regulators brought formal charges against Microsoft for abusing its dominant market position by bundling its Internet Explorer Web browser with its Windows operating system, which is used in 95% of the world's personal computers.

ARC International, a specialty semiconductor manufacturer, said Wednesday posted a larger-than-forecast GBP7.3 million net loss for 2008, and said it remains cautious for 2009. Analysts cautioned that the company is unlikely to reach break-even this year.

In congressional testimony, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke depicted an economy undergoing a "severe contraction." But Bernanke said the recession could end in 2009, paving the way for a "year of recovery" in 2010.

Not since Franklin Roosevelt delivered his first fireside chat, eight days into his presidency, have Americans been more hungry -- and more desperate -- for economic leadership. And not since FDR has there been an economic agenda as bold or ambitious, or as likely to reshape American capitalism. Just a month in office, Obama has already pushed through additional fiscal stimulus equal to 5% of the country's economic output.

The Top-10 advanced packaging companies garnering market share on Gartner's just-released preliminary list for 2008 include Advanced Semiconductor Engineering (ASE, Kaohsiung, Taiwan), Amkor Technology (Chandler, Ariz.), Siliconware Precision Industries (SPIL, Taichung, Taiwan), STATS ChipPAC (Singapore), Powertech Technology (Taipei, Taiwan), UTAC (Singapore), ChipMOS Technologies (Hsinchu, Taiwan); King Yuan Electronics (Hsinchu, Taiwan); Carsem (Ipoh, Malaysia); and Unisem (Ipoh, Malaysia).

Amid mounting environmental concerns, TV manufacturers are racing to make energy-efficient sets, with some now launching "eco" branded TVs.

Some media reported that Sharp Corp is in talks with SVA (Group) of China on forming an alliance to produce LCD TV panels in China.

An LED design company specializing in architectural indoor lighting adds to Philips' portfolio of solid-state lighting capabilities.

The purchase includes the x7 Color System and technology, Paletta and Lustr products, and the new Vivid LED fixture series.

Philips Lumileds' announced today that test data for its LUXEON Rebel LEDs shows performance that exceeds ENERGY STAR guidelines intended to ensure quality solid-state luminaire development.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) and Tela Innovations has recently announced a strategic partnership to develop co-optimized design solutions using Tela's innovative and patented lithography-optimized design technology and TSMC's processes.

China Unicom has reportedly reached an agreement with Apple on iPhone's entry into China and the 3G iPhone may appear in the Chinese market in May 2009.

ST to show key applications for energy efficiency at IIC-China 2009, including green air-conditioning, eBike, and Solar-LED street lights in Shenzhen Convention and Exhibition Center - Booth 2G01

The Open NAND Flash Interface (ONFI) workgroup was created in May of 2006 to standardize the low-level interface to NAND flash chips from different manufacturers. However, the two largest NAND flash manufacturers are not members of ONFI. Samsung and Toshiba together account for approximately 70% of global NAND flash production, although their market share has been dropping by around 10% annually since ONFI was first standardized. SanDisk is also notably absent from the list of members.

Home prices in top US cities fell a record 18.5% in December amid an unending home mortgage crisis at the epicenter of financial turmoil, fresh data showed Tuesday.

Micron Technology's decision to cut as many as 2,000 jobs and scale back memory chip production is a "prudent" move, a Deutsche Bank analyst said.

Asian stocks fell sharply amid renewed fears over the health of the global financial sector and after US stocks hit a near 12-year low.

China reaffirmed on Monday that it will ramp up public spending and try to simulate domestic demand to ensure stable growth as the global financial crisis weighs on the economy.

US Consumer prices rose in January for the first time in six months as energy costs rebounded, government data showed on Friday, easing fears of deflation amid a severe economic downturn.

Japan's chip industry, awash in red ink, plans to consolidate older fabs. Fujitsu, NEC Electronics and Renesas Technology all detailed scheduled closings of older facilities. Also, executives at NEC and Toshiba, which have been discussing a merger of their system-on-chip (SoC) operations, appeared reluctant to go ahead with a merger until internal restructuring efforts take effect.

With the global recession hanging over economies in Asia, market researchers at IDC expect overall IT services growth in the region to slow down, forcing organizations to move back to basics with an increased focus on cost management and less so on business transformation projects.