Infineon Technologies AG, Europe's second-largest chipmaker, would consider merging with another company although a partner may be hard to find because of the economic crisis, CEO Peter Bauer said.

Tech salaries are growing, even as the economic pressures force industry-wide layoffs, according to Dice.com, a leading career site for technology and engineering professionals. According to a survey of more than 19,000 technology workers between August and November 2008, Dice tracked a 4.6% increase in average pay from the previous year -- and a rate at more than twice that for electrical engineers.

Global chipmakers, battling slower technology demand, are betting size matters as they pin their hopes for future growth on small and easy to carry mobile devices such as netbooks and smartphones.

Fujitsu and Toshiba has announced that they have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on the transfer of Fujitsu's hard disk drive (HDD) business to Toshiba. The companies plan to conclude a transfer contract at an early date, and aim to complete the transaction in the first quarter of fiscal 2009.

The International Energy Agency has said there could be an oil supply crunch from 2010 once global demand recovers and the impact of delayed investment crimps future supplies.

The world's second-largest cell phone maker, Samsung Electronics, will start to sell several phones using open-source Linux software platforms this year, a senior executive told Reuters in an interview.

Mobile telephones are seen as "a basic necessity" around the world and should enjoy persistent strong demand throughout an economic downturn, a United Nations (UN) agency said in a report published on Monday.