In my opinion, it's time for Taiwan's DRAM makers to merge, consolidate--or give up. The time is now. Not next quarter or next year. Now! There is a plan to consolidate Taiwan's DRAM makers, but so far, no one has budged.

Nearly 5,000 firms in England and Wales went into liquidation and a record number of people succumbed to insolvency in the first three months of 2009, as the deepening recession claimed more victims.

Consumers felt more confident about the economy last month than at any time since the September failure of Lehman Brothers that pushed global banking to the brink of collapse, a survey showed Friday.

"The global economic slowdown continues to limit demand for all semiconductor devices," said Mario Ruscev, CEO of FormFactor.

Asia's governments must spend more on social safety nets and reduce their reliance on export-driven growth as they grapple with an economic meltdown that will keep tens of millions trapped in poverty, finance officials said Sunday.

Last year, for the first time, the US Patent & Trademark Office issued more patents to foreigners than to Americans. And the rest of the world is expected to widen its lead over the US as manufacturing and research and development continue to migrate to emerging markets.

The president announced the establishment of a new Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy, or ARPA-E. With a proposed budget of US$400 million, ARPA-E will focus on research into clean alternatives for carbon-based energy.

Apple is building a significant capability to design its own computer chips, a strategy shift that the company hopes will create exclusive features for its gadgets and shield Apple's work from rivals.

Infineon Technologies AG Thursday posted a narrower net loss in the fiscal second quarter but remained downbeat in its full-year outlook as the economic downturn continues to slam demand for consumer-electronic goods.

Semiconductor designer ARM Wednesday reported a 10% fall in first quarter dollar sales as consumer demand for electronic products continued to suffer, but said there are signs of an improving trend in the semiconductor market.

Fujitsu Microelectronics and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) on April 30 announced that they will collaborate on leading-edge process technology production for the manufacturing of Fujitsu's products. Under an agreement, Fujitsu will expand its 40nm generation logic IC business with production at TSMC's fabs.

Electrofluidic display promises full colour e-book readers soon

Industrial output in Japan rose in March for the first time in six months, according to government figures. Production rose by 1.6% in March compared with February, after months of dramatic decline.

Amkor Technology has announced net loss for the first quarter ended March 31, 2009 was US$22 million, compared to a net loss of US$623 million in the prior quarter. Gross margin for the quarter was 12%, and the company expects its gross margin climb to between 17% and 19% in the current quarter.