Germany's Economy Ministry released a paper on Thursday with a proposal to reduce the growth of new photovoltaic installations to 1,000 megawatts (MW) a year, a move that would dethrone the country as the world's largest market for solar panels.

Germany's Environment Ministry on Friday dismissed a proposal from the Economy Ministry to reduce the growth of new photovoltaic installations to 1,000 megawatt (MW) a year, saying a 15-percent cut for 2012 was enough for now.

Toyota Motor said it had restored vehicle output in Japan to "near-normal levels" on Monday, after severe flooding in Thailand disrupted supply chains.

"This is going to take a lot longer than people are assuming, until the end of 2012 at least..."

Researchers have designed a new computer chip that mimics synaptic plasticity-how a brain's neurons adapt in response to new information.

Under fire from angry Republicans, US Energy Secretary Steven Chu denied Thursday that now bankrupt solar panel firm Solyndra leveraged political ties to President Barack Obama for a government loan.

China Sunergy Co. (CSUN) swung to a third-quarter loss despite a jump in sales as the Chinese solar-products maker saw its margins plunge into negative territory amid falling solar panel prices.

China-based module provider JinkoSolar has today revealed plans to install a 5MW solar plant in the UK with AEE Renewables.

ARM expects the semiconductor industry to grow by "a few percent" in 2012, but its licensing growth will be slower after an exceptionally strong year in 2011, its senior executive said on Thursday.

Since entering into a global distribution agreement in February 2011, Arrow and SiTime have been actively promoting MEMS oscillators and clock generators in the Asian market to drive the replacement of quartz crystal products with silicon MEMS.

Apple's move to standardize on Qualcomm baseband chips will be helpful in bringing LTE to the iPhone and iPad in 2012 thanks to Qualcomm's next-generation mobile device modem chips. The company announced recently that updated chips with integrated LTE and 3G support will offer greater power efficiency for mobile devices, a sticking point that has so far kept Apple from offering compatibility with high-speed LTE networks.

Applied Materials has forecast first-quarter sales and profit that fell short of analysts' predictions, a sign that semiconductor makers are scaling back expansion plans.

Rambus has announced the jury in its anti-trust case against Hynix Semiconductor and Micron Technology has found in favor of the defendants.

GCL-Poly Energy Holdings Ltd., China's biggest polysilicon maker, plans to sell 1.5 billion yuan ($236 million) of 7.05 percent notes due in 2018 to increase production capacity amid a global surplus.

The US Department of Energy (DOE) revealed its latest funding under the SunShot Initiative with a US$7 million effort for the reduction of non-hardware costs of residential and commercial PV installations.

Infineon Technologies has said sales in fiscal 2012 will drop by a "mid-single-digit percentage" as customers hold off on orders.

The largest trade show and conference for embedded system designers and managers will be held in Yokohama, Japan, from November 16-18.

iFixit's teardown shows an abundance of TI silicon, with flash memory storage and system memory from Samsung and Hynix, respectively.

Renesas Mobile will initially deploy Imagination's technologies in its cellular platforms for high-performance smartphones, tablets and in-car infotainment, but the technology will also be used by Renesas Electronics in its SoC lineups for other consumer markets.

Undeterred by recent green energy debacles, even the oft-cloudy Windy City plans to get into the solar subsidy scrimmage.

SK Telecom has agreed to pay KRW3.4 trillion (US$3.1 billion) for 21% of Hynix Semiconductor.

Weak market demand and falling module prices have forced JinkoSolar to revise financial guidance for the third quarter and full-year 2011.

Germany's largest module manufacturer, SolarWorld reported weakening financial conditions in the third quarter. Shipments and revenue remained flat with the second quarter but margins declined as weak demand and declining prices impacted results.

A concerted effort to increase sales overseas, though not a player in the expanding China market, SMA Solar Technology reported it had claimed back lost market share in the first 9-months of 2011.

Samsung Electronics plans to invest a record KRW38 trillion (US$34 billion) in 2012, sharply up from around KRW30 trillion this year, local online news provider Edaily reported Wednesday, citing unnamed industry sources.