STMicroelectronics and Ericsson has announced the closing of their agreement merging Ericsson Mobile Platforms and ST-NXP Wireless into a 50/50 joint venture. The deal was completed on the terms originally announced on August 20, 2008. Ericsson contributed US$1.1 billion net to the joint venture, out of which US$0.7 billion was paid to ST.

Planned layoffs at US firms in January reached their highest monthly level in seven years, according to a report released on Wednesday, as the more than year-old US recession took an increasingly heavy toll on employment.

The US switch to digital television signals will be delayed four months until June under legislation that cleared Congress on Wednesday. Obama supports the delay, sharing concerns that 20 million mostly poor, elderly and rural households were not ready for the congressionally mandated switch.

Unlike past US recessions, chipmakers can't count on boosting overseas sales this time because the economic slowdown has so quickly gone global. Slowing exports is a challenge for the chipmakers, which do most sales overseas. Three of the largest US chipmakers are taking different tacks to cut manufacturing costs in the face of a steep global recession.

The global economic downturn will continue to hammer computer networking giant Cisco Systems, chief executive John Chambers said Wednesday. In its current quarter, Cisco expects to see revenue decline between 15% and 20%.

Samsung Electronics on Wednesday said it plans to start selling by the end of 2009 a DRAM chip built with its new 40-nanometer technology, which is expected to use significantly less power than the current generation of memory chips used in PCs.

French telecoms gear maker Alcatel-Lucent booked a fresh impairment charge of 3.91 billion euros (US$5.03 billion) in fourth quarter of 2008 reflecting a "drastic deterioration" of the global outlook.

Panasonic, the world's largest consumer electronics maker, forecast its largest loss in seven years because of falling sales of flat-screen televisions and a stronger yen. The net loss will probably be 380 billion yen (US$4.24 billion) in the year ending March 31, compared with the 30 billion yen profit projection made on November 27.

Microsoft has finally confirmed what much of the evidence was pointing to: there will indeed be six editions of Windows 7, just like there were for Windows XP and Windows Vista. Customers will be able to choose from Windows 7 Starter Edition, Windows 7 Home Basic Edition, Windows 7 Home Premium Edition, Windows 7 Professional Edition, Windows 7 Ultimate Edition, and Windows 7 Enterprise Edition.

The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) has launched an initiative to boost the development of solar energy technology, in a bid to turn it into a major energy source in China by 2050. The plan will be carried out in three phases, including "utilization in selective areas" by 2015, "utilization as an alternative energy" by 2025 and "large-scale utilization" by 2035, respectively.

The Japanese chip maker Elpida Memory said Wednesday that it may seek government funds under a new program intended to support nonfinancial firms hit by the economic crisis.

Qimonda will shut its only U.S. plant with the loss of around 1,500 jobs, the insolvent German memory chip maker said on Tuesday, adding it faced liquidation if it cannot find investors with deep pockets.

European Union Industry Commissioner Guenter Verheugen sees no chance to save Germany's insolvent chip maker Qimonda with the tools available to the EU, he said in a newspaper interview on Tuesday. 'Nobody can save a company whose owner does not want to save it.'