Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing is in talks with lenders to change terms of debt due after 2010 as the global recession hurts earnings. Chartered Semi has S$3.9 billion (US$2.7 billion) of loans and bonds outstanding, including US$390 million of bonds due August 2010.

Synaptics has posted solid year-over-year sales and earnings growth despite the tough economy thanks to its involvement in two hot product categories, notebook computers and smartphones.

Berlin-based Solon has announced its first quarter of 2009 ended March 31, 2009 fell short of expectations. The long and harsh winter in southern Germany had a negative impact on demand for solar energy systems, as did the continuing lack of sufficient funding for larger photovolatics projects.

Suntech Power and Schott Solar announce plans for new US production plants as demand for panels continues to climb.

Applied Materials executives said customer confidence is improving, but cautioned that the company is seeing "a very dynamic environment" in all of its major segments. China's stimulus plans may continue to support cellphone and PC consumption there, said CEO Mike Splinter following release of fiscal Q2 financial results.

AMD's spun-off manufacturing arm, Globalfoundries, reportedly has convinced Subramani Kengeri to join its team. Kengeri comes from manufacturing giant TSMC and was one of the key people behind the recently announced TSMC/Intel deal.

Semiconductor equipment maker Applied Materials swung to a loss in the fiscal second-quarter as sales plunged a less-than-feared 53% in a tough environment for the chip sector.

After a massive capex splurge on its semiconductor division over the last three years, Toshiba is radically cutting back its chip investments over the coming year.

The pace of Taiwan's economic decline has slowed down, but a much-anticipated rebound is still far way, the chairman of one of Taiwan's biggest companies said Monday.

The two biggest producers, Samsung Electronics and Hynix Semiconductor, won larger shares of the shrinking market in DRAM chips in the first quarter, industry research firm DRAMeXchange said on Monday.

The world's largest maker of solar cells reported a net profit of 19.8 million euros (US$27.0 million) for the first quarter of 2009, better than expected. But it slashed its 2009 sales outlook for the third time since December.

China's contract chipmakers, battered by a sharp downturn in demand for semiconductors, will survive the recession and become increasingly competitive over time, according to an Accenture executive.

MIPS Technologies on May 8 announced Synopsys has acquired its Analog Business Group in an all-cash transaction for US$22 million.

CHIA Song Hwee's upbeat tone when he spoke to BT after Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing's first-quarter results announcement might seem discordant at other times.

The Torqx SSD line is one of Patriot's latest releases designed with Patriot's new cutting-edge technology that adds 64MB of DRAM cache in conjunction with its current equipped NAND technology.

As photovoltaic energy nears grid parity in select regions of the world and the industry's cell manufacturers work to lower costs further, the PV industry is becoming a serious on-grid alternative. This growth is reflected in a materials market for PV module manufacture that is expected to skyrocket in coming years, according to a new report from Linx Consulting.

The electronics supply chain remains pessimistic and appears to believe we have not yet seen the bottom of the recession, according to a survey of more than 230 electronics supply chain decision makers.