Programable chip maker Xilinx lowered its fiscal third-quarter guidance Tuesday, saying sales in December have been weaker than anticipated. Xilinx shares dipped 13 cents to $18 after hours Tuesday, after closing up 5 percent for the day.

OPEC oil ministers agreed their deepest output cut ever on Wednesday, cutting 2.2 million barrels per day from oil markets in a race to balance supply with rapidly crumbling demand for fuel. The cut, effective January 1, comes atop existing curbs of 2 million bpd agreed by OPEC since September.

Canon says it will delay the construction and start-up of a US$196 million digital camera plant in Japan due to slow demand, becoming the latest company to modify investment plans amid the global downturn.

The US International Trade Commission agreed to investigate Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics based on a complaint filed by Eastman Kodak. Kodak submitted its complaint in November, charging LG and Samsung with violating patents in their camera phones and other mobile products. The relevant patents cover technology related to image capture, compression and data storage, and a method for previewing certain images.

France's competition authority Wednesday temporarily barred an exclusive distribution deal between the country's dominant telecommunications group France Telecom and Apple over the blockbuster iPhone mobile phone.

Apple's shares fell almost 4% on Wednesday on concerns about the health of its chief executive and whether the company had any new products planned after it said Steve Jobs would not deliver the keynote speech at its upcoming technology show.

Amkor Technology has announced that as part of the company's overall cost reduction efforts in response to current economic conditions, its Compensation Comittee approved the recommendation by senior executives that their base salaries be reduced beginning in January 2009. The salaries of the Company's US payroll named executive officers will be reduced by 10%, except for the Company's CEO, who recommended that his salary be reduced by 50%.

STATS ChipPAC (Singapore), which provides semiconductor test and advanced packaging services, has responded to the global semiconductor downturn with a restructuring plan that results in ~1600 employees being laid off, ~12% of the company’s workforce.

"We deeply regret that the state of Saxony has not taken our proposals into account," says Peter Bauer, CEO of Infineon Technologies AG. "In spite of the extremely difficult situation of the world market and the semiconductor industry, Infineon has offered to provide a loan in combination with the sale of a substantial package of Qimonda shares to the state of Saxony. This offer represents the largest possible burden we can reasonably take on."

A source at China Telecom revealed recently that Qualcomm has decided to lower CDMA patent licensing fees for Chinese manufacturers--possibly even lower than the patent licensing fees levied by the WCDMA camp. Specific fee rates have yet to become clear.

A 500-megawatt solar energy development quota set by the Spanish government for 2009 might already be filled. That's because an ongoing government investigation has uncovered widespread fraud that could in effect reward those who falsely claimed to have completed solar power projects by a September deadline when they didn't, wrote Jeff Osborne, an equity analyst with Thomas Weisel Partners, in a research note Monday.

Shares in South Korea-based Hynix, which trails home rival Samsung Electronics, rose 6.73% to 7,450 won after gaining more than 7%, far outpacing the wider market's KS11 0.93% rise.

Separately, Dow Corning will begin producing monosilane gas that is used to make thin-film solar panels and liquid crystal displays in a facility adjacent to the polysilicon factory in Hemlock, Mich. The companies will invest US$1.2 billion to add 10,000 metric tons of annual production to their polysilicon factory in Hemlock, which currently has 19,000 tons of capacity. They will also start building a new polys

Qualcomm's four-year, $350 million effort to design a chip that goes into small notebooks and handhelds will come to fruition next year when device makers deliver products based on the Snapdragon processor.

Semiconductor maker Atmel reduced its fourth-quarter revenue estimate and announced cost cuts that include an 11% reduction of its North American work force amid slumping chip demand.

DRAM ASPs (average selling prices) will climb significantly in 2010 on high demand and lower supply, according to the 2009 edition of IC Insights' McClean Report, to be released next month. This jump in prices will once again give the DRAM producer renewed confidence, leading to moderate increases in DRAM spending in 2010 and big DRAM capital expenditure increases in 2011.

Saxony will lend 150 million euros (US$205 million) to Qimonda AG, which will be matched by a capital increase from parent company Infineon Technologies AG.

First Solar's thin-film panels might be piling up in European warehouses, a bad omen for a company envied by many in the solar industry. A ThinkEquity research note on Friday estimated that six key First Solar customers aren't able to install the solar panels quick enough.

It's unclear whether Intel executives intend to follow Mr. Grove's advice. Mr. Otellini declined to comment, but a spokesman said that Intel already has investments in battery-related companies through its Intel Capital unit. "We consider battery technology important and we look at a lot of things. But whether we will do anything more, we can't say at this time," the spokesman said.

The global economy could fall into prolonged crisis, spreading social unrest unless governments expand and implement promised stimulus packages, the IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn said on Monday.

Even in a weak phone market, rising acceptance of connectivity technology should benefit semiconductor suppliers.