An iPhone 4 recall would cost Apple $1.5 billion, a Wall Street analyst estimated on Tuesday.

Engine control units made by Hitachi couldn't be delivered on time to Nissan because ICs needed to make them were not available from a supplier, Hitachi said.

Altera has enhanced its Arria II GX FPGA variant with 6.375Gbps transceivers and up to 1.25Gbps LVDS support, while broadening the reach of the family with the addition of the new Arria II GZ FPGA variant. The company claimed its 40nm Arria II family provides the lowest power 6Gbps transceiver solutions shipping today, featuring up to 50% lower static power over competitive devices.

Novellus Systems posted quarterly results above expectations, helped by a surge in bookings and shipments. The chip-gear maker has reported net profits of US$63.3 million for the second quarter compared with losses of US$50 million a year ago.

The SYA1022 controller offers increased functionality, improved power efficiency and lower production cost in a smaller form factor, ideal for embedding into mobile and handheld devices such as handsets and notebooks. Engineering samples are immediately available with production quantities available in September 2010.

The revised moratorium would allow some drilling rigs to resume operating under certain conditions. To qualify, the rig's owners must prove that they have adequate plans in place to quickly shut down an out-of-control well, that the blowout preventers atop the wells it drills have passed rigorous new tests, and that sufficient cleanup resources are on hand in case of a spill.

Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. (SMIC) said in a statement it plans to sell up to 1.5 billion new shares at HK$0.52 each to its largest shareholder, state-owned Datang Telecom Technology & Industry Holdings, whose stake in the chip foundry will rise to up to 19.06%.

There have been a number of positive developments regarding wage growth and government stimulus that will help move China forward towards a more consumption-oriented economy. But keep in mind that China is a save-first economy, so 20-25% wage inflation doesn't instantly equal 20-25% more consumer spending.

Bryan Li, the company's CFO, says Yingli decided to become a World Cup sponsor because of the increasingly competitive market for solar companies. Yingli felt it could "not just compete with our global competition by cost. We also need to compete with them by the brand."

SoloPower claims that its modules boast a 10.5% to 11% efficiency (compared to ECD at somewhere in the 6.5 percent range) and the flexible units can be affixed to the roof with an adhesive or mounted on a lightweight non-penetrating rack.

NTP has filed a lawsuit against six of the world's leading cell phone makers, accusing them of infringing on its patents for delivering e-mail to handsets.

The rumored RIM tablet may have a 7-inch screen, a 1GHz processor and dual cameras.

Germany's upper house of parliament backed reductions in solar-power subsidies of as much as 16 percent after offering the industry an extra three months to adjust to the cuts.

The company has estimated revenues grew 23-25% on quarter in the second quarter of 2010, a positive increase over the guidance previously provided that revenues would be up 10-20% sequentially.

Several lawmakers were injured on July 7 as rival politicians clashed on the first day of a parliamentary debate on a controversial new trade pact with China.

Solar-power industry representatives said the bill passed by the lower house of parliament in Berlin today will increase pressure on companies such as Q-Cells SE and Solarworld AG as they face competition from producers in China.

Retroactively from July 1, subsidies for roof-mounted solar-electricity facilities will be cut by 13% instead of the originally planned 16% cut. Subsides to providers generating solar power on open-field sites--such as agricultural land--will be cut by 12% instead of 15%, while the initial cut for sites that have been converted from former military and industrial use would be 8% instead of 11%.