Hynix Semiconductor said on Wednesday it would cut planned spending on a South Korean plant and delay a $260 million investment in its Chinese joint venture as it tries to deal with a cash shortage amid a downturn. Hynix shares slid 12.7% to end at 6,720 won before the announcement, compared with the wider market's 1.4% loss.

Research In Motion (RIM) is suing Motorola, alleging that the mobile phone company improperly blocked the BlackBerry maker from hiring current and laid-off Motorola employees.

TCL, a major Chinese television and mobile phone manufacturer, announced that it has started mass production of the LCD module (LCM) at its Huizhou plant in Guangdong province, aiming at further controlling costs and increasing profitability.

hareholders led by Korea Exchange Bank said in a statement they would extend 500 billion won ($374 million) in new loans to Hynix in early January and roll over all of its maturing debt by the end of 2009.

South Korea has begun full-scale commercial production of micro-electronic mechanical system (MEMS) sensors that can greatly bolster competitiveness in its information technology industry, the government said Tuesday.

Governments should be ready to increase their spending on economic stimulus programs if circumstances require it, the International Monetary Fund's chief economist Olivier Blanchard said.

China may follow its latest interest- rate cut with steps to spur consumer spending as deepening recessions in the U.S. and Europe pummel exports. The People's Bank of China yesterday lowered its one-year lending rate by 0.27 percentage point to 5.31% and the deposit rate by the same amount to 2.25%.

With flash memory scaling coming under increasingly sharp questioning, Toshiba (Tokyo) researchers said they have developed a double tunnel layer technology for SONOS-type memories that could be scaled to the 10 nm generation. At the 2007 IEDM, Toshiba presented a SONOS-type memory with a 1.2 nm silicon nanocrystal layer capable of supporting 100 Gb densities at the 15 nm generation.

Shares of Infineon Technologies AG rose as much as 21% on Monday after spun-off offspring Qimonda received a 325 million-euro ($456 million) loan.

India is hopeful an auction for third-generation (3G) radio waves next month will draw in bids at a "few times" the reserve price of 20.20 billion rupees ($415 million), a senior government official said on Tuesday.

Oil prices fell another 2.3% to below US$39 a barrel on Tuesday as a raft of gloomy economic data reinforced expectations that world energy demand will shrink for the first time in 25 years.

Panasonic is moving to acquire Sanyo Electric after squabbling Sanyo shareholders agreed to a plan whereby the smaller electronics company will be acquired for around US$9 billion. US investment powerhouse Goldman Sachs agreed to participate in the deal for a price per share of 131 yen (US$1.47) after it had rejected an earlier price of 130 yen.

Handset maker Nokia is selling its Internet security business to Check Point Software Technologies for an undisclosed sum. Israel-based Check Point says the acquisition will help it expand its lineup of security products.