French telecoms gear maker Alcatel-Lucent booked a fresh impairment charge of 3.91 billion euros (US$5.03 billion) in fourth quarter of 2008 reflecting a "drastic deterioration" of the global outlook.

Panasonic, the world's largest consumer electronics maker, forecast its largest loss in seven years because of falling sales of flat-screen televisions and a stronger yen. The net loss will probably be 380 billion yen (US$4.24 billion) in the year ending March 31, compared with the 30 billion yen profit projection made on November 27.

Microsoft has finally confirmed what much of the evidence was pointing to: there will indeed be six editions of Windows 7, just like there were for Windows XP and Windows Vista. Customers will be able to choose from Windows 7 Starter Edition, Windows 7 Home Basic Edition, Windows 7 Home Premium Edition, Windows 7 Professional Edition, Windows 7 Ultimate Edition, and Windows 7 Enterprise Edition.

Rambus's case against Micron may be headed for dismissal if comments by federal judge Ronald Whyte are any indication. According to Whyte, a Delaware court's decision earlier this January to throw out Rambus' claims based on spoliation leave him no room for discretion.

Shares in Japan's Hitachi slid 17% to their lowest in 29 years after it shocked investors with a record $7.8 billion annual loss warning and offered a cost-cutting plan that failed to instill confidence in a quick recovery.

New multiyear deals expand IBM’s involvement in large-scale business IT projects to India’s Idea Cellular, Sweden’s Sony Ericsson and Spain’s Endesa. The agreements re-emphasize the role of IBM’s Global Services in bolstering the company’s bottom line even in the midst of an international downturn.

SanDisk said that it had signed a definitive agreement with Toshiba to restructure the Flash manufacturing joint ventures operating at the 300mm Fab 3 and Fab 4. The result of the agreement will be basic SanDisk's transition to fabless flash-based products manufacturing.

Hitachi said the job cuts would be made globally across its car equipment and electronics divisions. The Japanese electronics and engineering group had previously predicted it would make a net profit of 15bn yen in the year to 31 March 2009.

In a statement Wednesday, the Semiconductor and Electronics Industries of the Philippines said one of the hardest hit sector is the semiconductor and electronics industry, as global demand continues to slide.

Japanese electronics giant NEC has become the latest company to announce massive job cuts. The company revealed on Friday that it would be forced to undertake a major restructuring in which roughly 20,000 jobs will be shed. The cuts will come from both the Japanese and worldwide operations of the company.

Many chip makers and analysts had predicted, as recently as earlier this month, that improvements in the semiconductor market could begin in the second half of 2009 as the chip inventories throughout the tech supply chain bottom and tech companies look to restock shelves with new products. But recent signs suggest a turnaround remains distant, and investors who have been piling into chip stocks could now be regretting their early advances.

Qimonda AG, the distressed German memory-chip maker majority-owned by Infineon Technologies AG, on Friday said it has filed for bankruptcy, barely a month after it secured 325 million euros ($422 million) in emergency loans.

Retailers are slashing costs and in many cases shedding staff in a bid to protect profits in the economic downturn, but are walking a fine line as they seek to save money without damaging their brands and growth prospects.

LG Electronics, a major manufacturer of mobile phones and flat screen televisions, swung to its first net loss in seven quarters, hit by falling prices for TVs and a hefty price-fixing fine slapped on its affiliate LG Display.

Even as the economy skids, Google keeps on rolling—just a little more slowly than it used to. Bucking the stalling economy and worsening outlook for online advertising, the search advertising titan on Jan. 22 reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter results. The numbers suggest Google will keep grabbing more of the online ad market from traditional media and from struggling online rivals such as Yahoo! and Microsoft.