Toshiba is in talks to merge part of its chip operations with the semiconductor unit of NEC, a person with knowledge of the negotiations said, as they struggle with slumping demand and prices.

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.

Asia's largest economies showed stark new evidence on Thursday of contagion from the global financial crisis as China reported its slowest growth in seven years and Japan's central bank admitted it faces two years of contraction and deflation.

To combat the crisis, Chancellor Angela Merkel is buying stakes in banks and bailing out industries. Is there no limit?

As the price of oil plunged from its peak last summer, solar and other forms of renewable energy became relatively less cost-competitive—dampening demand from industrial, commercial, and residential customers. At the same time, the credit squeeze has made it harder for customers, whether power companies or energy-conscious homeowners, to finance solar projects. Some also are holding back in anticipation that solar equipment prices will fall even further.

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.

Shares of Seagate Technology tumbled to a 52-week low Thursday after the hard-drive maker posted disappointing second-quarter results and gave a third-quarter outlook below Wall Street's expectations.

The bailout of financially troubled German memory chip maker Qimonda AG could be at risk as the company has an additional financing gap due to detoriating memory chip prices, people familiar with the matter told Dow Jones Newswires Thursday. The financing gap is around EUR300 million, these people said. One of them said additional financing needs may rise by the end of current calendar year.

China's economic growth slumped to 6.8% last quarter, dragging down the pace of expansion for all of 2008 to a seven-year low of 9% as the full force of the global financial crisis struck home.

Sony is considering consolidating its TV operation by eliminating production at one of its two factories in Japan, a company official said Thursday, amid speculation the company is falling into its first annual operating loss in 14 years.

Sumco, the world's second-largest maker of silicon wafers, lowered its full-year profit forecast 44%, citing a slump in demand amid a global recession. "While market visibility in December and January is best described as fumbling in complete darkness, we expect the conditions to bottom out in February to March," said company president Kenjiro Shigematsu.