|
 |
|
| Contract manufacturer end BlackBerry phone production |
2/10/2020 |
|
TCL announced Monday that its contract with BlackBerry has come to an end and that it is no longer licensed to produce or sell BlackBerry devices. TCL says it will still support existing devices until 2022, but that’s about it.
|
|
|
| U.S. Q4 productivity up 1.7% |
2/7/2020 |
|
For the year, productivity increased 1.7%, up from 1.3% advances in both 2017 and 2018. While a 1.7% rise in productivity is considered modest, it was the best annual showing since a 3.4% advance in 2010.
|
|
|
| FBI turns its attention to Chinese espionage |
2/7/2020 |
|
The Justice Department in 2018 created what it calls the China Initiative to focus attention on the espionage threat, though officials stressed Thursday that the scrutiny was aimed not at individual Chinese citizens but rather at those suspected of stealing from America on Beijing's behalf.
|
|
|
| Siemens earning dipped weighed down by auto and energy sectors |
2/6/2020 |
|
Siemens said orders for the period, its fiscal first quarter, were down 2% at 24.76 billion euros ($27.4 billion). Net profit declined 3% to 1.09 billion euros. It pointed to “sharply lower large volume from large orders” at its mobility business and a similar issue with the gas and power business.
|
|
|
| Hyundai halts production amid coronavirus |
2/6/2020 |
|
Hyundai emailing saying its decision to close its Korea plants is due to disruption in the supply of parts resulting from the coronavirus outbreak in China, and that the company is reviewing various measures to minimize the disruption of its operations, including seeking alternative suppliers in other regions.
|
|
|
| 2020 outlook for the memory market looks flat |
2/5/2020 |
|
“We’re projecting for NAND flash to go up 5% next year. But we’re projecting for DRAM to go down 25%. So, it’s a mixed-up kind of a year. But, when all is said and done, we think 2020 will end with an ongoing oversupply in the memory market.”
|
|
|
| Amazon's U.S. workforce has topped 500,000 for the first time |
2/5/2020 |
|
Amazon's U.S. workforce has topped 500,000 for the first time, up 43% from the year before and more than triple what it was five years ago, the company said Friday. It gained 150,000 workers last year, more than the size of Apple's entire workforce.
|
|
|
| Signs on supply chain disturbance start to show up |
2/5/2020 |
|
Foxconn, the Taiwanese company that famously provides Apple and other tech giants with contract assembly work, is touch and go right now. China has forced companies to shutdown as it works to address virus concerns and Foxconn is currently out of production until February 10th. At least.
|
|
|
| Adata predicts memory prices to rise following recovery from coronavirus |
2/4/2020 |
|
Chen expects demand for memory to resume growth by May or June if the outbreak can be effectively contained. Sales from physical stores are expected to be undermined by the outbreak in the first quarter, but the losses will be covered by the dramatic growths from online shopping platform.
|
|
|
| California Bill to make utility companies pay for some Blackouts |
2/4/2020 |
|
PG&E shut off power for more than 2 million customers in October. The blackouts caused major disruptions throughout the region, closing schools and businesses and making it more difficult for people who rely on medical devices powered by electricity.
|
|
|
| PG & E to re-organize its board |
2/4/2020 |
|
Pacific Gas and Electric is pledging to overhaul its board of directors in an attempt to avoid a potential takeover by the state of California and prove the nation's largest utility is turning over a new leaf as it works through its second bankruptcy in less than 20 years.
|
|
|
| Taiwan-based backend firms bracing for the virus |
2/3/2020 |
|
operations in China remain unaffected by the outbreak in the short term, as foundry fabs operated by TSMC and UMC to serve Chinese vendors of logic ICs are not located in Wuhan. But they are actively enforcing diverse precautionary measures against the outbreak. ASE has set up an emergency handling center to monitor resources allocations for its plants in China.
|
|
|
| First female CEO in IBM stepping down |
2/3/2020 |
|
IBM said in a statement that Rometty "reinvented more than 50% of IBM's portfolio" during her tenure, building a $21 billion cloud business while also advancing the company's initiatives in artificial intelligence, quantum computing and blockchain technology.
|
|
|
| Poland to buy $4.6 billion worth of F-35 |
2/3/2020 |
|
Poland expects to take delivery of the Lockheed Martin F-35 combat aircraft between 2024 and 2030. It will be the 10th NATO member nation to have F-35 fighters. The contract includes training, logistics and simulators.
|
|
|
| Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications chip sales to soar to US$128.9 billion in 2025 |
1/31/2020 |
|
AI chips are used widely in various markets, including automotive, communication, computers, consumer electronics, industrial and healthcare. The largest single market for memory devices in AI applications is the computer segment, with sales rising to US$65.9 billion in 2025, increasing at a 15.7% compound growth rate (CAGR) from US$27.5 billion in 2019.
|
|
|
| Fed left key interest rate unchanged but warned about coronavirus outbreak |
1/31/2020 |
|
Powell called the coronavirus a "very serious issue,” though he noted that it’s too early to tell how damaging it will be. "It's very uncertain about how far it will spread and what the (economic) effects will be in China, for its trading partners, and around the world,” the chairman said.
|
|
|
|
