"...Hynix executive vice president Choi Jin-seog said it will be difficult for ProMOS to change partners...and they are also reviewing other possibilities, but talks with ProMOS are going well..."

Motorola announced it has made a strategic investment in Invidi Technologies, a technology provider of advanced addressable advertising for the television industry.

"...Gartner's inventory index, which measures inventory throughout the chip industry's supply chain, rose to 1.16 in the fourth quarter...the index is nowhere near the early 2001 peak of 1.7, it still comes as bad news to an industry dealing with a slump that's crimping demand for electronics of many stripes as well for the chips and other components that run them..."

Chinese companies' methods for dealing with waste haven't been perfected. Because of the environmental hazard, polysilicon companies in the developed world recycle the compound, putting it back into the production process. But the high costs and time, and enormous energy consumption required for heating the substance to more than 1800 degrees for recycling, have discouraged many factories in China from doing the same. But..there's such a severe shortage of polysilicon that the government is willing to overlook this issue for now.