Worldwide semiconductor revenues reached US$299.9 billion in 2012, down 2.6% from 2011, according to Gartner.

Micron Technology has posted a quarterly loss, hurt by acquisition-related expenses, but the chipmaker's revenue and margins improved.

Samsung's disclosure comes after people familiar with Apple's plans said last month the company has about 100 product designers working on a wristwatch-like device that may perform similar functions to the iPhone and iPad.

Seven O-S-D product categories and device groups reached record-high sales in 2012 compared to 14 new records being set in 2011.

"Led by continuing strength in the Americas, the global semiconductor industry has built on its momentum from the end of 2012 with an encouraging start to 2013, but ongoing economic uncertainty is holding back more robust growth," said Brian Toohey, president and CEO of Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA).

Texas Instruments, the largest maker of analog chips, raised the lower end of its forecasts for first-quarter sales and profit, as customers increase orders ahead of a projected rebound in electronics demand.

Industry consolidation to just three big DRAM suppliers and a reduction in capital expenditures among these manufacturers helped propel DRAM average selling prices (ASPs) up 13% year over year in January. Capex budgets are also being trimmed for NAND flash (though not nearly as much as DRAM), and that, along with ongoing unit demand, has put upward pressure on ASPs for these memory devices as well.

Nintendo's new Wii U console had a tough holiday launch, and its 3DS handheld continues to struggle.

As expected, Qualcomm cashed in on smartphone sales and the chipsets that go with them. In a statement, Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs said the company is positioned for strong growth courtesy of its Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 and 600 processors.

Worldwide microprocessor sales are expected to regain strength in 2013 and grow 12% to US$65.3 billion after rising just 5% in 2012 to US$58.2 billion due to weakness in standard PCs and the shaky global economy, according to IC Insights.

Industry experts say brisk sales of its latest smartphones, the Galaxy Note 2 and Galaxy S3, have driven its operating profit to an all-time high.

Sales shoppers meet last-minute panic buyers as UK shops kick-off traditional discounts two days earlier.

Micron Technology has reported a wider fiscal first-quarter loss as a slump in demand for personal computers led to a supply glut, weighing down prices.

or most of the last two decades personal computers have accounted for a third or more of annual IC sales, but standard PCs are now on the brink of being replaced as the largest end-use product category for ICs.

"Since Mike joined SMIC last year, he and his team have brought in record-breaking sales from the Americas region," said SMIC CEO Tzu-Yin Chiu. "We are excited to have him leading our sales force as we partner with new and existing customers and expand our service offerings."

The two companies are expected to ship an estimated 353 million smartphones and hold a combined 47% share of the total smartphone market in 2012. Smartphone suppliers under pressure include Nokia, RIM and HTC, each of which is expected to register steep double-digit year-over-year declines in smartphone unit sales this year.

Nokia has asked courts in the US, UK and Canada to block sales of rival Blackberry smartphones.

A record 247 million people visited stores and websites between Thursday and Sunday and spent a total of $59.1bn (瞿36.9bn), 13% more than last year, the National Retail Federation (NRF) said.

Sales growth at Wal-Mart has fallen short of market expectations, with the world's biggest retailer saying customers are feeling the pinch.

Booming sales in Asia have helped German car firm BMW shrug off the gloom in Europe to report a record third quarter pre-tax profit.

Toshiba is expected to report a 10% drop in consolidated operating profit for the April-September period as a strong yen hurt sales, the Nikkei reported.

"Solid demand for wireless communications in both packaging and test was the key driver of our business in the third quarter," said Ken Joyce, Amkor's president and CEO. "Lower-than-anticipated supply of 28nm wafers in the early part of the quarter and the overall weakness in the semiconductor market and general economy constrained our growth."

China's low-cost smartphone maker Xiaomi will look to expand its busines beyond the domestic market to Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore via online sales, but it will steer clear of producing tablet devices.

Dutch semiconductor-manufacturing equipment maker ASML said Wednesday it sees weak demand in memory chips, and adjusted its second half net sales guidance to the lower end of its earlier EUR2.2 billion-EUR2.4 billion range.

A temporary sales ban on Samsung Electronics' Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet computer in the US has been lifted by a US court.

Prior to joining Globalfoundries, Chen held key senior management positions in Marvell where he was responsible for sales, support and customer service for the company's business in China.

Warren East, chief executive of ARM, said the chipmaker was holding back on some of its recruitment plans in 2012 amid fears of a slowdown in sales in the second half of the year.

Applied Materials has forecast fiscal fourth-quarter sales that may fall short of analysts' estimates as some customers rein in expansion plans.

Chipmaker Marvell technology said Thursday that its second-quarter net income fell by more than half as revenue declined but research and sales costs rose.

Struggling Japanese chip firm Renesas Electronics has forecast it will make a net loss of JPY150 billion (US$1.91 billion) driven by restructuring costs for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2013, as it published sales down 11% sequentially for the first fiscal quarter, ended June 30.

ARM, whose chip designs power Apple's iPhone, said second-quarter revenue climbed 15% beating analysts' estimates, even as some customers delayed orders.

Cisco Systems plans to eliminate about 1,300 jobs, or 2% of the workforce, as Europe's debt crisis and sluggish corporate spending threaten sales.

Qualcomm has lowered its forecast of global cellular device shipments for 2012 due to a gloomy economic outlook, though it expects device sales to surge in the fourth quarter because of upcoming products, a likely reference to Apple's iPhone and Microsoft's Windows 8 tablets.

Google's tablet is off to a rousing debut. I doubt sales numbers will reach iPad standards, but Nexus 7 is nevertheless hotly pursued and reports from early adopters evoke pure delight. If you want one and haven't ordered, be prepared to wait. In the United States, delay is now nominal for the 8GB model -- 3 to 5 business days before shipping, according to Google Play. Prepare to wait three to four weeks for the 16GB tablet, however. That's from Google, which right now has best availablity following the first weekend rush.

Nikia will squeeze the current four big sales regions into two sales areas in China, namely the North and South sales regions, after its sales in the country dipped 18% to US$6.7 billion in 2011 compared with a 23% rise in 2010.

Shoppers in the eurozone loosened their purse-strings in May, but the trend remained sluggish, official statistics have shown.