...In the most precarious situation is ProMOS, which ended the third quarter with about US$76 million in cash, a third of what it started the year with. Investors in a US$350 million convertible bond issued by ProMOS in 2007 will be able to start selling the bond back to the company in February, although it isn't due until 2012. The company has another US$225 million bond due in June 2010, according to Dealogic.

...Microchip, which said it pulled out after On ended its pursuit of Atmel, may seek to team up with another company and make a new bid for Atmel, Suji De Silva, an analyst with Kaufman Bros., said in an interview. Microchip is still an interested buyer, De Silva said. There could be another partner or they may go it alone.

Gartner today lowered its capital and equipment spending forecast for the second time in as many months, warning that the next year could see a capital spending decline of about 17% and capital equipment revenue decline of 18%. The revised forecast comes after Gartner in October suggested 2009 equipment demand would be slower than anticipated.

Yahoo is unlikely to pull out of its $1 billion-plus China investment in Alibaba Group, even after the pending departure of CEO and strong China supporter Jerry Yang, analysts said on Tuesday. "No matter who becomes the new CEO of Yahoo, I don't think they would want to sell their investment in China," said Elinor Leung, an analyst at CLSA. "They're having a tough time in the U.S., and China is the growth potential for them."

ZTE, China's No. 2 telecoms equipment vendor, expects the country's high-speed third-generation technology to be adopted outside of China as soon as 2009, despite "flaws" that will need to be ironed out.

Research In Motion (RIMM) President Mike Lazaridis Monday said he's still confident about growth in the smartphone market. Lazaridis said despite the economic crisis everybody needs communication devices. He added the smart phone market outpaces the overall mobile phone sector.

A new facility in Germany aims to develop a domestic manufacturing base for the production of organic LEDs and solar cells

Privately held semiconductor company Novafora Inc agreed to buy microchip designer Transmeta Corp in a cash transaction worth $255.6 million. The expected offer price of between US$18.70-19.00 per share is at a 7-8% premium to Transmeta's closing price on November 17. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2009. Transmeta also entered into an agreement under which Advanced Micro Devices will transfer 700,000 of Transmeta's preferred stock to the company.

Semiconductor company Intersil said Wednesday it is cutting its global work force by 9% because of the current economic turmoil. "Unfortunately, we are entering a period of significant uncertainty and we feel the prudent approach is to respond quickly," said Dave Bell, chief executive, in a statement.

The United States government should not worry about deficits over the next two years while spending money to jumpstart the ailing economy, President-elect Barack Obama said in a television interview that aired on Sunday. "The consensus is this, that we have to do whatever it takes to get this economy moving again, that we have to -- we're going to have to spend money now to stimulate the economy."

Germany's state of Saxony and Infineon's loss-making unit Qimonda are in talks about a possible rescue plan, a spokesman for Saxony's Economics Ministry said on Monday. A company spokesman declined to comment on the report but said Qimonda and the state in eastern Germany were in constant contact. Qimonda runs a production plant in Dresden -- the capital of Saxony.

The Finnish communications giant said it expects to ship 330 million handsets in the quarter. Consequently, Nokia's shipments forecast for the whole of 2008 dropped from 1.26 billion units to 1.24 billion.

The Paris-based body has forecast a fall in US economic activity of 0.9% in 2009, with the Euro area contracting by 0.5% and Japan by 0.1%. Economic growth in the 30 countries of the OECD is forecast to fall by 0.3%, before growing by 1.5% in 2010.

The latest data from IDC shows worldwide PC shipments into the United States will be 1.1% lower in the fourth quarter than they were for the same period a year ago. By comparison, PC shipments to the US increased nearly 11% during the fourth quarter of 2007. Citigroup also predicted that 2009 PC sales would be worse than it previously had thought. "It is clear that the PC industry is feeling the full impact of global economic recession."

Key issues agreed by world leaders at this summit included: reform of international financial institutions, a global free-trade deal, improvements to financial market transparency, banks and financial institutions' incentives "prevent excessive risk taking," to draw up a list of financial institutions whose collapse would endanger the global economic system, strengthening countries' financial regulatory regimes and taking a "fresh look" at rules that govern market manipulation and fraud.

World leaders are to continue talks on measures to limit the current financial turmoil at a summit in Washington. They hope to agree on long-term reforms to cut the risk of further crises and a coordinated economic stimulus plan. China is likely to be key to any reforms agreed. With nearly $2 trillion in foreign exchange reserves and an economy that is still expanding, albeit at a slower pace, it is one of the few countries attending that has the cash to help countries in distress.

Falling for a fourth straight month, US retail sales plunged a record 2.8% in October as sales of autos and gasoline plummeted, the Commerce Department estimated Friday. Excluding the 5.5% drop in auto purchases, retail sales fell a record 2.2%.

The One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) organisation is planning to sell the devices via online store Amazon's European outlets from 17 November. When it goes on sale the XO laptop is expected to cost £268 (313 euros) and should be available in 27 EU nations as well as Switzerland, Russia and Turkey. The original idea for the OLPC was to create a small, powerful laptop for school children that would sell in the millions yet cost less than $100.