The Japanese electronics companies now aim to seal an official contract by June and set up the joint venture, which will make and sell large liquid crystal display panels, by March 2010, they said in a joint statement.

New multiyear deals expand IBM’s involvement in large-scale business IT projects to India’s Idea Cellular, Sweden’s Sony Ericsson and Spain’s Endesa. The agreements re-emphasize the role of IBM’s Global Services in bolstering the company’s bottom line even in the midst of an international downturn.

Corning, the biggest maker of glass for flat-panel televisions, will eliminate about 3,500 jobs this year after fourth-quarter profit plunged 65% on slowing demand for TVs and computer monitors.

Samsung Electronics is set to invest some 2.2 trillion won in LCDs in 2009 –one trillion won in maintenance of facilities and 1.2 trillion won for expansion of the existing eighth-generation 8-2 production facility.

CEOs from US-based leading technology companies, in a meeting with President Obama, came out strongly in support of the economic recovery package moving through Congress and called for policies that make the US the most attractive destination for businesses, workers and capital.

South Korea denied a report it would offer for sale stakes in chipmaker Hynix Semiconductor and 17 other companies via international auction, but confirmed plans to attract investment into state-run assets. The Asia's fourth-largest economy posted its second-biggest contraction on record in the last quarter of 2008.

Samsung Electronics announced that it has developed the first 4Gbit DDR3 DRAM chip using a 50nm lithography process. The new chip doubles the density of earlier DRAM chips, yielding modules with up to 32GB capacity.

Zarlink Semiconductor has taken proactive measures to protect its foundry base. This is following MHS Electronics UK Ltd.'s advice that it is likely to cease wafer shipments to Zarlink from the analog foundry in Swindon, UK.

The unanimous vote by House Republicans against President Obama's stimulus plan provided an early indication that the GOP hopes to regain power by becoming the champion of small government, a reputation many felt slipped away during the high-spending Bush years.

Asian stocks fell for the first time in four days, led by banks and technology companies, as a record slump in Japanese factory production and lower profit forecasts renewed concern the global slowdown is deepening.

Davos leaders have traditionally looked to the long term and have largely been keen on helping all nations of the world to benefit from economic development. But with politicians and businesses tied up with short term concerns about the economic crisis there's a risk at least that efforts to spread development and to ward against the threat of climate change may go on hold, at least for a time.

Reiterating the 'severe deterioration' in order intake caused by the global economic recession, lithography toolmaker ASML has announced that its 2008 fourth-quarter sales hit 494 million euros--a 29% drop from the previous quarter, and a 48% decline year-over-year. The quarterly sales fall within ASML's revised guidance, which the company announced last month along with reorganizing efforts that includes a layoff of 12% of its workforce. Full-year 2008 net sales were 2.95 billion euros, down 21.6% over 2007.

SanDisk said that it had signed a definitive agreement with Toshiba to restructure the Flash manufacturing joint ventures operating at the 300mm Fab 3 and Fab 4. The result of the agreement will be basic SanDisk's transition to fabless flash-based products manufacturing.

Hitachi said the job cuts would be made globally across its car equipment and electronics divisions. The Japanese electronics and engineering group had previously predicted it would make a net profit of 15bn yen in the year to 31 March 2009.

The US economy shrank at its fastest pace in nearly 27 years in the fourth quarter, government data showed on Friday, sinking deeper into a recession that the White House said demands urgent action.

Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing said it would cut 600 jobs, about 8% of its global work force, as it swung to a fourth-quarter net loss amid a drop-off in demand and delayed deliveries.

In a statement Wednesday, the Semiconductor and Electronics Industries of the Philippines said one of the hardest hit sector is the semiconductor and electronics industry, as global demand continues to slide.

Japanese electronics giant NEC has become the latest company to announce massive job cuts. The company revealed on Friday that it would be forced to undertake a major restructuring in which roughly 20,000 jobs will be shed. The cuts will come from both the Japanese and worldwide operations of the company.

Many chip makers and analysts had predicted, as recently as earlier this month, that improvements in the semiconductor market could begin in the second half of 2009 as the chip inventories throughout the tech supply chain bottom and tech companies look to restock shelves with new products. But recent signs suggest a turnaround remains distant, and investors who have been piling into chip stocks could now be regretting their early advances.

The technology industry suffered another black day yesterday (January 30) as a host of big names including NEC and Hitachi, said they would make large losses in the year to March. Toshiba and NEC Electronics warned they would incur losses in the year to March. Even star performer Nintendo cut its profit forecast.