Globalfoundries Fab 1 in Dresden, Germany is undergoing several major changes, including integration of separate modules into an integrated facility. With a steep 32nm MPU ramp underway that includes high-k/metal gate technology, the fab is also now running foundry wafers for non-AMD customers.

NEC Electronics has announced it plans to double production of its USB-IF certified SuperSpeed USB (USB 3.0) host controller, and is expecting to reach monthly production of two million units starting April 2010.

The US Federal Reserve has repeated its pledge to keep interest rates at record lows in order to nurture the economic recovery.

Representatives from GlobalFoundries and TSMC said their companies are focused on tighter cooperation with EDA and IP vendors. The comments were part of a panel discussion at the Design, Automation and Test in Europe (DATE) conference, held last week in Dresden, Germany.

Ramifications of slowed manufacturing capacity output and a lack of capital expenditure over the past 24 months, combined with increased demand driven by a hot PC market, has resulted in a very positive environment for DRAM pricing.

Elpida Memory is expected to return to the black with an operating profit of almost 20 billion yen (US$222 million) for the year ending this month, buoyed by a recovery in DRAM chip prices, according to the Nikkei business daily.

Dongbu, MagnaChip, TowerJazz and X-Fab are expanding their wings with new capabilities or alliances.

Applied Materials topped the list of semiconductor equipment vendors for the eighteenth consecutive year in 2009, a year in which mere survival was noteworthy amid a painful recession and steep industry downturn, according to VLSI Research.

Applied Materials has ramped up its lobbying effort during the last three months of 2009, spending close to a half-million dollars trying to sway lawmakers on energy policy and other issues.

Two of China's top chipmakers and Intel's lone China factory are all running at or near full capacity, as China's sector rebounds more quickly than the rest of the world, according to senior executives at the three firms.

China-based Vimicro International, which has posted two consecutive annual losses, may break even in 2010 as economic recovery bolsters its domestic sales, according to company chairman John Deng.

MagnaChip Semiconductor has filed to raise up to US$250 million in an initial public offering of common stock under the proposed trading symbol of MX on the New York Stock Exchange.

BYD has massive expansion plans for 2010 and would consider building a plant in the US, the company said a day after announcing annual profits had tripled. The automaker will put aside 10 billion yuan (US$1.5 billion) this year to grow its business.

Hynix Semiconductor creditors sold a 923.2 billion won (US$814 million) stake in the world's second-largest maker of computer-memory chips after three failed attempts.

Popular social-networking site Facebook will open an office in India, joining a long list of international firms that have looked to tap a skilled workforce that provides support services at relatively cheap wages.