Recent production adjustments for NAND flash memory won't bring the desired effect of stabilizing and increasing prices, a research report published by Baird suggests. Manufacturers will have to brace for further production cuts and price declines in the second quarter, while consumers should benefit from this scenario through cheaper flash memory devices, especially in SSDs.

Japan's Pioneer Corp. is to quit its loss-making flat-screen television business in a sweeping overhaul of its operations, the Nikkei business daily reported on Saturday.

Japanese electronics maker Sharp Corp. said Friday it will cut 1,500 contract workers in Japan by the end of March, and is headed for a billion dollar annual loss, its first in nearly 60 years.

Toshiba is planning to allow a total of about 16,700 workers to take on second jobs while they are on temporary leave due to production cuts in its struggling semiconductor and LCD divisions, company officials said Thursday.

Tessera reported 4Q sales of $69.1 million, up 30% year over year, in line with estimates, and profit of 41 cents per share, excluding some costs, which was ahead of the average estimate of 36 cents. The company designs devices that attach chips to PCBs and gets royalty payments for the use of those designs by others.

German chipmaker Infineon Technologies AG reported Friday a ？404 million ($513 million) net loss for its fiscal first quarter as the global economic slowdown crimped demand and caused sales to fall.

Chip maker ON Semiconductor said Wednesday it expects first-quarter revenue in the range of US$340 million to $380 million, which is below Wall Street's expectations.

ALLVIA, the first through-silicon via (TSV) foundry, has secured US$5 million from private investors in its next round of funding to expand manufacturing facilities and to build more capacity. This brings the total funding invested in the company to US$25 million.

Michael Jaffe, the insolvency lawyer for Qimonda AG, will fly to Asia by the end of this week to meet potential investors for the German memory-chip maker.

The US-Taiwan Business Council, in its "Semiconductor Quarterly Report--Annual Review, 2008," contends that Taiwan is facing a critical strategic crossroads that will impact the future of its semiconductor sector, and particularly the DRAM industry, for years to come.

The new federal rules limiting executive compensation announced by President Obama Wednesday may affect only a handful of the nation's most battered financial institutions currently.