China's second- and third-largest contract chipmakers Shanghai Hua Hong NEC and Grace Semiconductor have agreed to merge in a sector in need of a consolidation and technology upgrades, sources said on Thursday.

The US unemployment rate dropped sharply to 8.6% in November, its lowest level in two-and-a-half years, from 9% the month before, official figures show.

Competition and global price cuts on components make it a great time for Australian households to go solar - particularly with electricity prices predicted to jump a national average of 17%.

Japanese companies, Thailand's biggest foreign investors, may spend more to build factories in neighbors including Indonesia and Vietnam after the worst flooding in 70 years disrupted global production.

Apple's iPad is the bane of computer-memory makers, worsening the industry's losses as consumers choose the hand-held device that uses about 75% fewer of the chips than a typical laptop.

As projected, the largest LCD TVs were indeed cheaper and more plentiful and increased sales in third-quarter 2011, but it was the 32-inch screen size segment that continued to wildly outpace all other segments quarter to quarter.

Growing indignation on the part of leading Chinese PV manufacturers in relation to the ongoing trade dispute has spurred senior executives of 14 leading producers to gather and set out a coordinated plan of defence.

The challenging market conditions faced by all PV manufacturers in 2011 have led to many claiming poor visibility into business expectations next year. In recent third quarter conference calls many tier 1 suppliers refrained from giving any 2012 insight, with guidance provided near or during fourth quarter financial results early next year.

Thai Solar Energy Co., Southeast Asia's only solar-thermal energy producer, plans to spend more than 14 billion baht ($447 million) over the next five years to develop projects with a total capacity of 135 megawatts.

Didier Lamouche replaces Gilles Delfassy after the transformation of the company's portfolio roadmap from legacy feature phone products to smartphone and tablet platforms.

SpringSoft has announced immediate availability of the Laker Blitz chip-level layout editor, a new software product targeting chip finishing applications and the latest addition to its popular family of Laker custom IC design and layout automation solutions.

The Black Friday glad tidings from consumer electronics makers continued on Tuesday, with Sony announcing a big rise in US sales and Microsoft reporting a record week for its Xbox 360 console and Kinect controller. The news followed Nintendo's announcement on Monday of receord sales of its Wii and 3DS gaming machines.

Corning GLW lowered its expectations for fourth-quarter LCD glass shipments and Gorilla Glass shipments.

Apple Inc. is adding Sharp Corp. as a maker of screens used in the next-generation iPad, people familiar with the situation said Thursday, as the U.S. consumer electronics company moves to diversify component suppliers for its products.

PowerSecure (POWR) has introduced its new SuperTube LED lighting fixtures which are designed to replace overhead fluorescent tubes in commercial applications, increasing energy efficiency and cutting costs.

China's solar-panel supply glut is consolidating the industry and will likely slash the number of domestic manufacturers to 15 within half a decade, according to a research group at the nation's top economic planning agency.

IBM and Micron Technology are beginning to produce a new memory chip based on technology designed to boost memory speeds 15-fold. The technology will be used to make a Hybrid Memory Cube chip that will be commercially manufactured by Micron.

The US Supreme Court left intact a ruling that lets Tessera Technologies seek damages from Qualcomm and four other companies for infringing patents covering computer-chip packaging.

The yuan halted a three-day losing streak on speculation European leaders will boost efforts to solve the region's sovereign-debt crisis.

Seagate raised its forecast for the fourth quarter, providing a somewhat more optimistic view of the disk-drive component constraints that have affected the industry due to catastrophic Thai floods.

Aptina has announced the expansion of its extensive product portfolio with the production ready AR0832E backside illuminated (BSI) sensor. The AR0832E is a 1/3.2" optical format, 8-megapixel sensor with a 1.4-micron BSI pixel that produces stunning images to enable a class of Smartphone cameras capable of delivering the performance of digital still cameras.

Building new nuclear power stations will make it harder for the UK to switch to renewable energy, said one of the top German officials leading the country's nuclear energy phase-out.

China has launched a trade probe into US subsidies for renewable energy and is contemplating filing a case with the World Trade Organisation. The probe is the latest episode in the rapidly escalating trade dispute between the two countries that was sparked off by an anti-dumping petition from a group of US manufacturers last month.

The one millionth photovoltaic system has been connected to Germany's grid, according to the country's solar industry association, BSW-Solar.