The price of copper has hit a new all-time high, rounding off a year in which industrial metals rebounded strongly. It peaked at US$9,631.75 per metric tonne on the London Metal Exchange, before falling back slightly.

Intel will receive a grant from the Israeli government to build a 12-inch plant dubbed Fab 28 in Kiryat Gat. Intel promised to employ 3,100 employees at the fab and boost R&D investment.

The latest news claims that the device will be launched on January 5th instead, which is when CES will be held.

New standards were released in Europe this week for a universal USB phone charger that will let Europeans use one charger for different phones starting early next year. The standards are based on MicroUSB and were embraced on Wednesday by the European Commission, which says they will be helpful to both consumers and the environment.

Nintendo warned that young children shouldn't play three-dimensional games on a hotly anticipated new game device, citing possible health risks and raising concerns about a technology that many hoped would boost the appeal of 3-D entertainment in the home.

HTC has filed for a trademark for a product called HTC Scribe, describing it as a "handheld wireless device, namely a tablet computer." The filing was recorded with the US Patent and Trademark Office on Dec. 26.

Two of Britain's biggest retailers shrugged off the impact of this month's heavy snow by revealing strong Christmas trading.

Poor battery life is likely the reason that Research In Motion has delayed the launch of its BlackBerry PlayBook tablet until the second quarter of 2011, according to a new report from Kaufman Bros.

Germany will account for a reduced 40 percent of world demand in 2011, but that will be offset by growth in the U.S., Italy, France, the Czech Republic and others countries. The global demand for the solar market should grow 20 percent next year to 17.7 gigawatts.

Companies from China are increasingly setting up shop in the U.S. to avoid trade barriers and to learn better ways to prosper in their fiercely competitive home market

The pending acquisition of Motorola's mobile telecom equipment arm by Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN), which is pending approval by China's Ministry of Commerce, would make it more difficult for domestic rivals Huawei Technologies and ZTE to enter the US market, an analyst said.

A few days old, but still worth reading. Maybe the real application for solar power isn't giant farms in Germany but solar power kits to villages in India and sub-Saharan Africa.

Snowstorms have deterred shoppers at post-Christmas sales in America's northeast. However, some analysts expect the storms will boost online sales.

Toshiba announced it has acquired Fujitsu's shareholding in Toshiba Storage Device and turned the JV its wholly-owned subsidiary. Toshiba and Fujitsu merged their HDD businesses in October 2009.

RIM allegedly doubted Apple's ability to produce the original iPhone when the first-gen handset was initially announced, then thrown into panic after teardowns of the smartphone revealed the company had managed to produce a full-touch device with market-ready battery life.

Gold prices surged above US$1,400 an ounce on December 28 as a weaker dollar pushed investors into the safe haven of precious metals. Gold also seems to be gaining value based on its own track record for 2010, when global economic instability made it the go-to investment for jittery traders.

The Beijing municipal government will raise the city's minimum monthly salary to 1,160 yuan (US$175) from 960 yuan, officials say.

Analog Devices (ADI) has announced the US ITC ruled decisively in favor of the company in its lawsuit against Knowles Electronics.