Beijing's top negotiator for Taiwan and his Taiwanese counterpart have signed a series of business accords, and said agreements on free trade and IP rights would be negotiated in talks slated for the first half of 2010. Critics fear that the move will eventually lead to unification with the Chinese mainland.

The Korean government and private sector will jointly inject 58.4 billion won (US$50.5 million) over the next three years into building up the local semiconductor manufacturing equipment sector, according to government officials.

The sector's recovery depends on what happens at the global climate change summit taking place in Copenhagen and incentives for the renewable resource in China, according to Mark Pinto, CTO and general manager of Applied's Energy and Environmental Solutions group.

The fall in cost is due to the increased lifetime, according to the independent EU Energy Institute.

Thailand's economy grew for a second straight quarter as government stimulus spending and an improvement in manufacturing propelled its recovery from recession.

Intel is now completing its first chip-fabrication plant in China; it will lag the technology used by other factories by two years, but the factory will still affect local know-how.

The German government is funding a research project aiming at developing manufacturing processes for large-area OLED illuminants. In the Light InLine (LILi) project, Applied coordinates the activities of a team formed of its own experts as well as professionals from OLED materials manufacturer Merck KGaA and from the Technical University of Braunschweig (Germany).

The International Monetary Fund has warned Asian nations not to withdraw their stimulus spending too soon.

The Obama administration has made increasing US exports a key part of its strategy to reduce unemployment and is moving on several fronts to do that, Commerce Secretary Gary Locke has said.

Taiwan's government will invest in an innovative memory chip company to a maximum of NT$10 billion, and only if such an enterprise can secure core technology and help Taiwan to stay competitive in the field, Minister of Economic Affairs Shih Yen-shiang said on October 15.

Consumer sentiment as measured by the Reuters/University of Michigan index fell to 69.4 in early October, below the 73.5 print in late September, which economists were expecting would remain unchanged.

Beijing's four-trillion-yuan (US$586 billion) stimulus package, unveiled in November 2008, "has played a very good role in the recovery of the Chinese economy," said Xiong Bilin, a vice director general of the National Development and Reform Commission.

Germany's next government plans to reduce incentives to generate solar power as early as 2010, the energy spokesman for Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats said.

"People are printing money, gold is going up," according to investor Jim Rogers in an interview on Bloomberg Television.

The European Commission's new proposal to boost solar technology development focuses too much on research and not enough on deploying commercial technologies, according to the European Photovoltaic Industry Association (EPIA).

As China primes its energy market for explosive growth, the country could see one gigawatt of solar power generation capacity by 2011, said a new report by GTM Research.

Japan's export recovery slowed in August, pointing to slower growth in production and fuelling concern that the economy may lose momentum as the impact of stimulus spending around the world fades.

Micron Technology will begin to pursue manufacturing of LED devices with the help of a US$5 million federal economic stimulus grant announced Sept. 24.

Leaders of the G20 group of the world's most powerful countries pledged to bring the world economy out of recession when they met in London in April. As they meet in Pittsburgh five months later, just how far have their governments gone in meeting some of their key commitments?

Recent signs that recession has ended in some major economies, including China's major trading partner Japan, suggest that exports may pick up again.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao pledged to continue his government's aggressive stimulus efforts, saying the world's third-largest economy faces persistent problems and uncertainties from the global recession despite an upturn in growth.

Mitsubishi Electric and industrial design company IHI are now teaming up in the race to develop new technology within four years that can beam electricity back to Earth without the use of cables.

Elpida will issue 30 billion yen worth of preferred shares, which carry no voting rights, for purchase by the Development Bank of Japan.

There are worries that an increase in bank lending, which has helped to drive the Chinese market rally, might see a rise in bad loans.

The big bounce—GDP plunged by at over 10% (annualized) in the previous two quarters—owes much to stimulus packages in Japan and around the world.

A run of poor earnings has damped confidence in once-booming solar companies.

"During the boom, there were significant capacity increases. There were also, by the way, significant announcements of capacity that may or may not have happened..."

India expects one trillion rupees (US$21 billion) of investments over a five-year period ending March 2012 for renewable-power generation, according to the chairman of Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency.

China's exports and new loans tumbled in July and industrial output rose less than estimates, underscoring government concern that the economy is yet to establish a solid recovery.

China will maintain its current macroeconomic policy stance aimed at bolstering domestic spending as the nation continues to experience fallout from the global recession, Premier Wen Jiabao said.

China is on its way to becoming a solar power - with financial incentives coming from every corner of the country - but a lack of experienced project developers and equipment installers may cast a shadow over the growing industry.

Elpida Memory may sign up today (August 7) with the Development Bank of Japan, becoming eligible for about 30 billion yen (US$314 million) in government aid, Nikkei English News said.

The Chinese authorities in July predicted 8% growth for 2009, thanks to a four trillion yuan (US$585 billion) economic stimulus plan. But the global downturn has still put millions of Chinese out of work.

Beijing now expects China to achieve 8% growth for 2009 as a whole, which compares with a predicted contraction of between 1% and 1.5% in the US. However, the Chinese government warned that some economic challenges remain.

Experts at Semicon West 2009 were in broad agreement that the industry must change its business model in the face of global recession and ever-advancing R&D costs.

Governments across Asia have launched massive stimulus packages focused on renewable energy in recent months, and some analysts think the new infusion of cash could reshape a solar industry reeling from the economic downturn.

Japanese chipmaker Elpida was thrown a 160-billion-yen (US$1.7 billion) financial lifeline on June 30, including public funds, to help it survive the economic downturn, officials said.

Japan has passed the worst of its current slump and is on course for growth in its next fiscal year, but the recovery of the world's second-largest economy could yet prove vulnerable, Kaoru Yosano, finance minister, has warned. The comment came just before a survey showed that business confidence had risen for the first time in two and a half years.

China's manufacturing expanded for a fourth month as a 4 trillion yuan (US$585 billion) stimulus plan and record bank lending revive the world's third-largest economy.