Intel plans to produce its first "10-nanometer" processors in the second half of 2017, CEO Brian Krzanich said Wednesday. Intel hadn't given a start date for the process before, but many observers had expected it to arrive some time next year.

Not so long ago, the release of a new Windows operating system was a sure bet to drive a massive PC refresh cycle, boosting sales by double digit percentages. But that is a thing of the past.

Accounting irregularities have plunged the Japanese conglomerate company Toshiba into a crisis, with several key board members stepping down, including CEO Hisao Tanaka.

Tsinghua Unigroup, controlled by China's Tsinghua University, has agreed to invest US$100 million in a mobile operating system start-up founded by Mozilla Corp's former China head, according to a company announcement.

Sales of the new Apple Watch have plunged by 90% since the opening week, according to a new market-research report.

"We expect to see continued overall business strength in the second half of 2015 due to increased demand from memory and foundry customers compared with our previous expectations," ASML president and CEO Peter Wennink said.

Sales of PCs that used Micron's memory chips dropped faster than the company expected in 2015 triggering a 50% stock plunge. That drop helped set the stage for Micron, which is known for buying other companies' chip operations, to become a target.

The deal, if true, could have broad implications for Micron's technology partner, Intel and NAND-chip competitor SanDisk.

Growth in the world's second largest economy, China, beat expectations in the second quarter, but it was still the weakest showing since the global financial crisis.

SanDisk has shipped more than two billion microSD cards since it started commercial shipment of the technology ten years ago.

Applied Materials is using an industry trade show this week to try to persuade analysts that the company will be just as well off without merging with fellow tool-maker Tokyo Electron.

Qualcomm is undergoing major restructuring and one side-effect of the overhaul is that some 4,000 jobs might be slashed.

Hard-disk drive storage provider Seagate on Monday lowered its revenue and margin guidance ahead of the release of its fourth quarter earnings report later this month.

Tsinghua Unigroup Chairman Zhao Weiguo signaled the company is interested in Micron Technology after the Wall Street Journal reported the Chinese company made a US$23 billion bid for the US semiconductor maker.

Sony said it expects to raise as much as JPY300 billion (US$2.4 billion) after setting a price for new common shares it is selling to raise money for boosting chipmaking capacity.

Microsoft also announced the reduction of up to 7,800 positions, primarily in the phone business.

The dramatic sell-off in China's main stock market has continued despite efforts by regulators to try to stem the losses.

Intel is set slip to third place in a ranking of chip companies compiled by Semico Research, based on forecast capital expenditure in 2015.

Tumbling markets and economic uncertainty in China pose a risk to major chipmakers such as Qualcomm that derive a big portion of their sales from the world's second-largest economy.

"S6 didn't sell as well as the market had hoped for, partly because of continued outperforming of iPhones combined with the supply constraint," said Greg Roh, a Seoul-based analyst at HMC Investment Securities Co. "Sales sharply missed the market expectation, which implies that overall technology industry demand for smartphones, TVs and PCs is weakening."

Apple distributors have slashed iPhone 4s to below Rs 13,000 (US$205.08), taking the battle right to the doors of domestic and Chinese smartphone players such as Micromax and Xiaomi in the popular mid-range smartphone market.

Doubts over the sales prospects of Samsung Electronics' new flagship smartphones are damping expectations of a rapid turnaround for the South Korean giant, even though profit likely continues to recover from last year's troughs.

Cricket Semiconductor, a company set up with the purpose of building and operating $1 billion analog and power semiconductor wafer fab in India has been in talks with state government of Telangana, according to a report in the New Indian Express.

Shares in Japan's Toshiba fell 5 percent in early Monday trade on fears that an ongoing third-party investigation into past accounting practices was finding more irregularities than previously expected.