As tech giants IBM, Yahoo, Apple and Microsoft report earnings this week, analysts say they expect headwinds and will look for how the companies plan to grow when the economy recovers.

The group also has developed a 32nm process and says customers will be able to move to the more power-efficient 28nm technology without a major redesign. Among the members of the joint development alliance is GlobalFoundries, a manufacturing company formed by AMD and Advanced Technology Investment.

In a recent interview, Globalfoundries vice president of manufacturing systems and technology Tom Sonderman said that the company plans to make GPUs using 28nm processes in the near future.

Yahoo is preparing to lay off several hundred workers in the first round of cuts since Carol Bartz became chief executive in January, a source with knowledge of the situation told Reuters. The layoffs could be announced next Tuesday, when Yahoo reports its first-quarter financial results.

Cellphone makers are expected to report buoyant sales of lower-priced, feature-packed smartphones as consumers opt for "cheap chic" amid the global recession.

Intel CEO Paul Otellini says the company's much talked about GPU project, Larrabee is on track and volume shipments are to start early next year.

Dutch consumer electronics giant Philips reported a surprise first quarter loss of US$78.9 million compared to a US$390 million profit a year ago. Europe's biggest electronics firm is a casualty of slowing global demand as the recession continues to take its toll on sales, which fell 17% to US$6.8 billion.

Microsoft has confirmed that the licence conditions under which the software will be sold will allow people to downgrade.