Some are suggesting it's time to buy beaten-down solar stocks, while others are arguing there's value because bad news is priced in and good news is starting to emerge. Wall Street analysts, often criticized for being blindly bullish on stocks, are this time among the sector's staunchest bears.

The Chinese government alerted all silicon, ingot, wafer, cell, and panel manufactures that it intends to announced a very aggressive Solar subsidy that is equivalent to US$3 per installed watt, in cash, as an incentive to aid the Chinese population to install solar. The Japanese may soon follow suit with an announcement of a substantial subsidy for solar installation.

"We need to find a European solution, and to back it up with the EU is a challenge — it takes time and if we wait too long, some of these companies might not exist anymore," said Heinz Kundert, president of SEMI Europe. Kundert said that the full-scale rescue of Qimonda would be quite difficult. "These projects are too big to be solved by one company or a single nation."

Japan's Toshiba and Sharp has said they are considering working together in the solar power business amid growing demand for cleaner energy, sending their shares higher.

The German state of Saxony isn't ruling out taking up an indirect stake in bankrupt computer chipmaker Qimonda AG anymore, the state's governor said Thursday.

The next phase of the world's economic downturn is taking shape: a global jobs crisis. How governments react will shape labour markets for years to come.

Government's aggressive actions should reinforce some of the economy's normal mechanisms for recovery. As pent-up demand builds, so will the pressure for more spending.

Here's one group you won't hear complaining too bitterly about government spending: Tech executives. While they're careful to avoid promoting any particular political ideology, there's a common refrain among them that with the economy in such rough shape and with customers afraid to spend, it's only natural for governments to step up.

China exports dropped an "ugly" 25.7% in February after January's 17.5% fall. The government is trying to boost domestic spending to alleviate the pain

Shares in Asia's major makers of DRAM chips fell sharply Friday (March 6), on profit-taking and concerns that Taiwan's proposal to realign its struggling chip sector through mergers may take time and do little to change weak industry fundamentals.

Japan's government is fortifying its defense of the corporate sector by broadening sources of public funding for companies struggling to cope with the deepening recession. Goldman Sachs analysts in a report Friday identified 15 Japanese technology companies on their financial risk watch list.

Premier Wen Jiabao, who delivered his Cabinet's work report to the parliament's 3,000 delegates, said China would be able to achieve 8% growth in the economy. The government plans to spend 146 billion yuan (US$21 billion) on its science and technology sector, up 25% from 2008; 293 billion yuan in social security and 130 billion yuan to speed up recovery in areas hit by the massive deadly earthquake that struck Sichuan province in August.

Home prices in top US cities fell a record 18.5% in December amid an unending home mortgage crisis at the epicenter of financial turmoil, fresh data showed Tuesday.

China reaffirmed on Monday that it will ramp up public spending and try to simulate domestic demand to ensure stable growth as the global financial crisis weighs on the economy.

Qimonda's works council urged German Chancellor Angela Merkel to help save the insolvent memory chipmaker. "Act now, dear Mrs Chancellor, so that technological dominance in semiconductors in Germany and Europe will not be lost."

Democratic leadership sources say they have worked out a way around the disagreement between the Senate and House over education funding in the economic stimulus bill.

Elpida Memory executives met Taiwan officials in Taipei today (Feb 11) to discuss integration of the memory-chip industry, Chen Chao-yih, head of Taiwan's industrial development bureau, said in a phone interview.

The US-Taiwan Business Council, in its "Semiconductor Quarterly Report--Annual Review, 2008," contends that Taiwan is facing a critical strategic crossroads that will impact the future of its semiconductor sector, and particularly the DRAM industry, for years to come.

The Japanese chip maker Elpida Memory said Wednesday that it may seek government funds under a new program intended to support nonfinancial firms hit by the economic crisis.

The politicians are primarily concerned with restoring demand enough to reverse the rising trend in unemployment; for many of the corporate leaders, ensuring the survival of their firms takes precedence over saving jobs. The difficult decision they face is not whether to cut, but how to do so in a way that strengthens their competitive position in the medium term rather than seriously damaging it.

CEOs from US-based leading technology companies, in a meeting with President Obama, came out strongly in support of the economic recovery package moving through Congress and called for policies that make the US the most attractive destination for businesses, workers and capital.

South Korea denied a report it would offer for sale stakes in chipmaker Hynix Semiconductor and 17 other companies via international auction, but confirmed plans to attract investment into state-run assets. The Asia's fourth-largest economy posted its second-biggest contraction on record in the last quarter of 2008.

The unanimous vote by House Republicans against President Obama's stimulus plan provided an early indication that the GOP hopes to regain power by becoming the champion of small government, a reputation many felt slipped away during the high-spending Bush years.

Asia's largest economies showed stark new evidence on Thursday of contagion from the global financial crisis as China reported its slowest growth in seven years and Japan's central bank admitted it faces two years of contraction and deflation.

Taiwan stocks reversed course to inch up 0.13% on Wednesday, the last trading day before the Lunar New Year holidays, with DRAM makers rallying amid growing investor expectations for a long-awaited industry restructuring.

European Union finance ministers warned that they are running out of room to spend money to boost their economies, as Germany predicted its economy would shrink at least 2% this year and Hungary's currency fell to a record low despite recent efforts to prop it up.

Singapore's economy may shrink a record 5% this year as exports slump, increasing pressure on the government to take steps to help businesses and consumers. The export-dependent nation has been battered by declining orders for electronics goods and pharmaceuticals from its biggest customers in the US and Europe, as well as emerging markets.

Helping capitalists out of a predicament of their own making is a delicate business, but any rescue mechanism should have built-in sanctions to raise risk awareness and reduce the probability of future crises. Banking regulators, central banks and governments should answer bankers' cries of help with a consistent and robustly capitalist approach.

An economic stimulus bill being crafted by Democratic leaders in the US Congress and aides to President-elect Barack Obama will cost about $850 billion, according to a government source.

As the economy heads deeper into a recessionary abyss, business tax cut ideas that seemed to be nonstarters just a few short months ago are suddenly back on the table. Take the incoming Obama Administration's embrace of a measure that would lengthen the period for money-losing companies to write off net operating losses against profits from the current two years to four or five years.

South Korea's exports fell by more than 15% for a second straight month in December, adding to signs the economy is headed for its first recession since 1998. President Lee Myung Bak said South Korea will run an "economy-emergency government" this year to fight the worst economic crisis since its 1997 $57 billion bailout by the IMF.

Governments should be ready to increase their spending on economic stimulus programs if circumstances require it, the International Monetary Fund's chief economist Olivier Blanchard said.

Shares of Infineon Technologies AG rose as much as 21% on Monday after spun-off offspring Qimonda received a 325 million-euro ($456 million) loan.

"This incentive package developed by New York is a clear differentiator in keeping this region competitive in the global technology marketplace. The support from the State of New York at all levels has been critical to the creation of The Foundry Company,” said Hector Ruiz chairman of AMD, who will become chairman of The Foundry Company.

"We deeply regret that the state of Saxony has not taken our proposals into account," says Peter Bauer, CEO of Infineon Technologies AG. "In spite of the extremely difficult situation of the world market and the semiconductor industry, Infineon has offered to provide a loan in combination with the sale of a substantial package of Qimonda shares to the state of Saxony. This offer represents the largest possible burden we can reasonably take on."

Saxony will lend 150 million euros (US$205 million) to Qimonda AG, which will be matched by a capital increase from parent company Infineon Technologies AG.

Infineon Technologies has indicated it could contribute 50 million euros ($66 million) to help rescue its loss-making chipmaker Qimonda, German magazine Focus said, citing sources close to negotiations.

Qimonda AG hopes to soon strike a deal to research chip technology with the German state of Saxony, where its main chip factories are located, a company representative said.

Hynix Semiconductor is facing a cash crisis as losses deepened to over 1.4 trillion won in 2008. The Korean Government support via Korean banks mirrors the potential intervention of the Taiwan Government in facilitating further credit instruments for Taiwan’s struggling DRAM manufacturers.

People looked it up so often on Merriam-Webster's online dictionary that the Springfield-based publisher says "bailout" was an easy choice for its annual Word of the Year honor.