Intel is interested in building another chip manufacturing plant in southern Israel by 2012 at a cost of US$2.5 billion, the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper reported on Monday.

Xandros has announced that its integrated software solutions for next-generation ARM and Intel-based wireless netbooks and MIDs are being showcased at the ongoing Computex 2009.

The trademark dispute between Intel and Psion over the term "netbook" may be over following unconfirmed reports that the two companies have reached a settlement that lets other computer makers refer to their products as netbooks.

NEC Electronics America has announced that it will showcase a new electronic paper (e-paper) module at up coming the Society for Information Display (SID) Display Week 2009, during June 2-4, 2009. Developed by NEC LCD Technologies, the 13.8-inch module, A4 international standard paper size, will be part of the NEC Electronics America's broad range of display solutions exhibited at the show.

NEC Electronics has announced its new super-resolution application-specific standard product (ASSP), which can reduce blurring that occurs when low-resolution images and video are expanded and displayed in 1920 x 1080-pixel high-definition (HD) monitors.

Socle Technology has announced its partnership with Catena and CoreSonic to develop a comprehensive design platform on Chartered's 65nm process with integrateable wireless subsystems.

Facebook has received US$200 million from a Russian investment group in exchange for a small stake in the nation's largest social networking company.

Solar power stations that concentrate sunlight could generate up to one-quarter of the world's electricity needs by 2050. The technology, best suited to the desert regions of the world, could also create hundreds of thousands of new jobs and save millions of tonnes of CO2 from entering the atmosphere.

The past several semiconductor downturns have resulted in transitions from one generation of packaging to the next. This one's no exception.

There is no such thing as a final deadline for the Qimonda negotiations, the company's insolvency administrator clarifies. The search for an investor continues.

Nikon has said it will reorganize its lithography operations, cutting 800 production workers in Japan and 200 marketing and support staff worldwide. By October, Nikon plans to combine four production subsidiaries into two, focused on IC and display equipment.

President Obama said on May 27 that he will use US$467 million in economic-stimulus money for initiatives that in two years will double the country's capacity for clean, renewable energy.

The SEMI PV Group has recommended that China should accelerate its adoption of PV-generated electricity to reach the global average by 2014.

SanDisk and Samsung Electronics on May 27 announced they have reached an agreement to renew the cross license of their semiconductor patent portfolios. The companies have also signed a flash memory supply agreement under which Samsung will continue to make available to SanDisk a guaranteed portion of its flash memory production output.

Wind-farm developer Renewable Energy Holdings on May 29 said it has signed a non-binding deal of intent to buy PVStrom Energy Systems GmbH & Co KG's photovoltaic development assets in Sicily, Italy for an undisclosed amount.

Mentor Graphics has reported a narrower loss for its fiscal first quarter on higher sales, and its top executive said the semiconductor market appears to have stabilized.

Japan's Toshiba plans to raise its chip production in July to levels not seen since it implemented output cuts in January, national broadcaster NHK has reported, in a move that would reflect an improvement in nationwide output levels.

Singapore chip foundry Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing has said it hasn't received a bid from Advanced Technology Investment.

The Jincheon site will manufacture silicone intermediate materials and encapsulants for LED packaging applications.

Strategies Unlimited's new report says that increasing demand for blue-violet laser diodes, UV LEDs, and other devices will provide significant growth of advanced substrates such as GaN and AlN.