Applied Materials' board of directors has appointed Gary Dickerson as president and chief executive officer (CEO) and Michael Splinter as executive chairman of the board of directors, effective September 1, 2013.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Wednesday the central bank will likely keep at least some of its easy-money policies going "for the foreseeable future."

Markets plunged as Ben Bernanke, Fed chairman, said it would be "appropriate to moderate the monthly pace of purchases later this year" as long as the economy grows as expected.

Japan's NHK network is scheduled to broadcast an animated documentary on TSMC at midnight Thursday, with TSMC's chairman and CEO, Morris Chang, depicted by the fictional character Shima Kosaku.

The company Jolla, which counts four former Nokia engineers and directors among its five founders, presented its new operating system Sailfish in Helsinki and co-founder and chairman of the board Antti Saarnio promised to deliver "the world's best smartphone" by mid-2013.

The new members added include Jackson Hu, chairman and CEO for NeoEnergy Microelectronics, Qiang Liu, chairman and CEO for Ingenic Semiconductor, and Vincent Tai, co-founder, chairman and CEO for RDA Microelectronics.

The Global Semiconductor Alliance (GSA) has announced the appointment of Leo Li, chairman, CEO and president of Spreadtrum Communications, to its board of directors. In his new position, Li will represent Asia-Pacific as the first board director based in China.

The chairman of South Korean electronics giant Samsung is being sued by his brother over a multi-million dollar inheritance of company shares.

Four longtime Yahoo board members, including the chairman, are leaving the company.

Micron Technology has announced the death of Chairman and CEO Steve Appleton in a small plane accident in Boise. Mr. President and COO Mark Durcan will assume the responsibilities of CEO until a successor is appointed.

Nanya Chairman Chia Chau Wu told Reuters on Monday that he did not know of any deal between the other two companies and the company had no current intention to take part in any deal. He declined to comment on whether Nanya would welcome any such tie-up.

The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) board of directors has elected Freescale Semiconductor CEO Rich Beyer as its 2012 chairman.

The Japanese semiconductor industry, which has been in decline for more than 20 years, needs to select key technology areas and refocus to rise again, Junshi Yamaguchi, former chairman of Renesas Electronics, told the International Electronics Forum being organized here.

Apple's major touchscreen supplier TPK Holding said Thursday Steven P. Jobs, chairman and co-founder of Apple, is a legend in the global consumer electronics industry. "Mr. Jobs revolutionized the human/machine interface. We really appreciate his contributions to the industry," said Chief Financial Officer Freddie Liu.

Nokia and Siemens have announced the appointment of Jesper Ovesen as Executive Chairman of the Board of Nokia Siemens Networks, effective today. The pair also announced that they are each providing capital of EUR500 million to Nokia Siemens Networks.

While global semiconductor revenue is projected to expand by 7.2% in 2011, Walden Rhines, chairman and CEO of EDA vendor Mentor Graphics, sounds a note of caution about maintaining this growth in 2012.

David Wang has resigned as CEO of Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. (SMIC), according to the China-based foundry, which named Wenyi Zhang chairman of the board of directors and acting CEO.

Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. (SMIC) has announced that its chairman died. But shareholders rejected CEO David Wang's reappointment as a board director, and the company requested its shares be suspended from trading in Hong Kong pending the release of "price- sensitive" information.

Kim Jong-kap, the former head of Hynix Semiconductor, has been named as new CEO and chairman of Siemens' Korean affiliate.

Nokia board chairman Jorma Ollila said Tuesday that he would leave his post by the year 2012 as expected, but that he would not "throw in the towel" at the world's leading mobile phone maker before then.

Robert Tsao, honorary chairman of United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC), said recently in a TV interview that he has given up his Taiwan citizenship. Disappointment in the domestic judicial system is the major reason why Tsao decided to become a Singaporean.

Chinese silicon wafer producer Jiangsu Huantai, a joint venture partner of MEMC Electronic Materials, aims to go public in 2012, according to company chairman Wang Lubao. Huantai expects to begin manufacturing LED materials later in 2011.

"Applied's solid first quarter was driven by continued strength in semiconductor systems and record profitability in solar," said Mike Splinter, company chairman and CEO. "We see momentum building in our end markets and expect our company's fiscal year revenue to be more than US$11 billion, exceeding our previous record by over a billion dollars."

Today FTC Chairman John Leibowitz wrote a letter to Rep. Ed Markey saying he would review the way Apple is marketing in-app purchases, in particular apps aimed at children.

The fed chairman is firing back, saying emerging market countries are causing problems for the world by preventing the strengthening of their currencies.

"Although discussions are ongoing with Sony and Renesas Electronics to secure their continued access to our semiconductor packaging technology through a licensing relationship with us, these discussions have not sufficiently advanced, thus necessitating this lawsuit," said Henry Nothhaft, chairman and CEO of Tessera.

Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Kun-hee has signaled that the company's component businesses have reached a peak, suggesting that profit may fall in 2011 from this year's record level.

Sir John Bond left his job as chairman of HSBC in 2006 to join Vodafone, where he won praise for steadying a squabbling boardroom. Since then, however, the running has not been smooth at Vodafone, particularly regarding the company's track record on acquisitions.

In 2005, chairman Lee Kun-hee's youngest daughter also committed suicide in her apartment in New York, where she was studying arts management as a graduate student at New York University.