Global exports of semiconductors to Russia have plummeted by 90% since the United States and allies slapped export controls on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine, US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said on Wednesday.

The British government has delayed for another two months its final judgment on whether to allow the acquisition of Britain's largest semiconductor plant by a Chinese company.

South Korea's export growth slowed sharply in June, partly due to a shorter work month but also as a result of softer global demand, as the nation ran a trade deficit for a third consecutive month.

Taiwan's industrial sector, including the world's largest contract chipmaker, will be hit with the island's first power price increase in four years as the state-owned utility grapples with soaring fuel costs.

US Commerce Department Secretary Gina Raimondo on Monday stepped up pressure on Congress to approve $52 billion in funding for chipmakers to expand operations, warning that firms would abandon American expansion plans without the legislation.

Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) will offer subsidies worth up to JPY476 billion (US$3.5 billion) for a semiconductor plant being built in Kumamoto Prefecture by TSMC, Sony and Denso, the ministry said on Friday.

When the Senate passed a rare bipartisan measure last summer to spend US$52 billion subsidizing computer chip manufacturing and research in the United States, it seemed like an easy legislative priority for both parties. But one year later, the funding still isn't signed into law.

SoftBank's founder and Chief Executive Masayoshi Son on Friday reiterated the Japanese conglomerate was most likely to list British-based chip designer unit Arm on Nasdaq, while stressing no decision has been made.

Samsung Electronics vice chairman Lee Jae-yong has secured additional extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography equipment, which is essential to production of next-generation semiconductors, from ASML.

Denso, a key supplier to Toyota Motor, may consider spinning off its chip business, the company's chief technology officer said Friday.

Japan's semiconductor material makers are moving to raise prices, as strong demand and the Ukraine war tighten supplies. The upward pressure on costs could translate into higher prices for products such as cars and home appliances.

Intel has frozen hiring in the division responsible for PC desktop and laptop chips, according to a memo reviewed by Reuters, as part of a series of cost-cutting measures.

IBM is among a long list of companies that suspended operations in Russia when President Putin invaded Ukraine in February.

ASML said Zongchang Yu, a former employee, had transferred trade secrets to Dongfang Jingyuan Electron, a Chinese company supported by the country's Communist party.

Samsung Display, the display making arm of Samsung Electronics, is poised to fully shut down its unprofitable liquid crystal display panel business for televisions in June, after over 30 years of operation.

It is unclear if the talks addressed a particular issue, or just represented the heads of the world's top two chipmakers getting together for a chat while Gelsinger was in town.

Broadcom and VMware have announced an agreement under which Broadcom will acquire all of the outstanding shares of VMware in a cash-and-stock transaction that values VMware at approximately US$61 billion, based on the closing price of Broadcom common stock on May 25, 2022.

Apple has told some of its contract manufacturers that it wants to boost production outside China, citing Beijing's strict anti-Covid policy among other reasons, people involved in the discussions said.

The chief executive of JSR, one of the world's largest suppliers of a material critical for semiconductor production, has said a lack of industry infrastructure will make it "very difficult" for China to develop cutting-edge chipmaking technology despite a push for self-sufficiency.

TSMC is considering building a semiconductor factory in Singapore to help address a global supply shortage, according to people familiar with the matter.

The top five corporate customers were Apple, Best Buy, Deutsche Telecom, Qualcomm, and Supreme Electronics, and these big clients accounted for about 14% of the company's total sales, according to a business report released by Samsung Electronics on May 16.

Lockheed Martin has joined Intel, Nvidia, and eight other big tech companies as part of a plan to securely link defense systems in what Lockheed calls a 21st century concept.

Samsung Electronics is talking with foundry clients about charging as much as 20% more for making semiconductors this year, joining an industry-wide push to hike prices to cover rising costs of materials and logistics.

Chipmaker Micron Technology on Thursday announced it was experimenting with a new pricing model for its chips called forward pricing agreements that would aim to stabilize the steep price fluctuations that plague the industry.

Infineon, the leading supplier of microchips to the auto industry, reported on Monday a 22% rise in second-quarter revenue and lifted its full-year outlook as it benefits from a global shortage of semiconductors.

AMD shrugged off the concerns about supply-chain issues and COVID-related Chinese manufacturing shutdowns, reporting record revenue of US$5.887 billion (up 71%) for the first quarter of 2022. And while AMD's rivals expressed uncertainty regarding ongoing chip shortages as a result of COVID-related manufacturing shutdowns in China, AMD appears less worried. The topic wasn't even mentioned in the company's press release.

Shanghai is expected to open up gradually, following a brutal lockdown.

The Biden administration is looking into claims that Yangtze Memory Technologies, a Chinese semiconductor maker, has supplied Huawei with chips, in a potential violation of US export controls.

Texas Instruments tumbled in late trading Tuesday after China's ongoing Covid-19 lockdowns crimped the company's sales and profit forecasts, with the restrictions idling factories and slowing shipments.

A sharp drop in graphic chip prices could presage an unexpectedly quick ending to a global chip crunch that has crippled manufacturing from smartphones to cars, and the issue will be a central one for companies reporting results this week.

More and more car manufacturers now bet on SiC and GaN, and chipmakers are transforming their business to take advantage of the electric-vehicle market's explosive growth.

Silicon Motion Technology is exploring a potential sale amid takeover interest in the semiconductor firm, according to people familiar with the matter.

At first blush, ASML's numbers look disappointing. But they're actually pointing to the same challenge and opportunity TSMC outlined last week: demand is so strong that it's tough to keep up.

TSMC said it won't start production at its 2nm node until the second half of 2025 or possibly the end of that year, which could signal a shift in the competitive landscape.

The goals don't exactly sound ambitious. For example, while TSMC plans to hit 2nm by 2026, Russia wants 28nm local chip manufacturing by 2030.

China's quarterly production of semiconductors shrunk for the first time since early 2019 as consumer electronics demand softened and Covid-triggered lockdowns in regions including Shanghai disrupted output.

Shanghai reported a record number of symptomatic COVID-19 cases on Saturday and other areas across China tightened controls as the country kept up its "dynamic clearance" approach that aims to stamp out the highly transmissible Omicron variant.

Shipments of some Apple products, as well as Dell and Lenovo laptops are likely to face delays if China's COVID-19 lockdowns persist, analysts say, as curbs force assemblers to shut down and closed-loop arrangements get harder to maintain.

Chinese automakers may have to halt production in May if shutdowns persist in the Shanghai area, said the chief executive officer of electric-vehicle firm Xpeng, a bleak assessment of supply-chain disruptions in the wake of Covid-19 lockdowns.

Synopsys, the biggest supplier of software used to design semiconductors, is under investigation by the US Department of Commerce for possibly passing key technology to banned Chinese companies, according to people familiar with the matter.