NSTAR GLOBAL SERVICES: Right People, Flexible Solutions.
The engineering and construction company M+W Group (until 2009: M+W Zander) has established a new subsidiary. M+W Solar GmbH with its headquarters in Stuttgart (Germany) is set to bundle and advance the business of development, planning and realization of photovoltaic (PV) power plants.
During Foton Motor’s 14th anniversary celebration, Foton and Freescale Semiconductor announced the establishment of the Automotive Joint Lab. The lab is Foton Motor’s first formal cooperation project in automotive electronics, providing evidence of the enhanced R&D investment and development Foton Motor is making in this area.
The Foton-Freescale Automotive Joint Lab is committed to co-developing silicon, software and system-level solutions for use in the next generation of Foton vehicles. The two companies have agreed to explore joint-development efforts in key application areas, including electric vehicle/hybrid electric vehicle (EV/HEV) technology and relevant electronic control technology. Future collaboration will focus on powertrain, chassis and safety technologies. The planned technology collaboration is expected to involve a wide range of Freescale microcontroller (MCU) platforms, including Freescale’s 32-bit Power ArchitectureTM MCUs, 16-bit S12X and 8-bit S08 devices, as well as analog power management ICs and sensors.
Designed to deliver a unique combination of equipment expertise and innovative financial solutions to the semiconductor industry, senior semiconductor industry veterans Douglas Elder, Bryan Banish, Colin Scholefield and Sandy Garrett today announced the launch of Boston Semi Equipment Group, LLC (BSE Group). The privately funded BSE Group aims to set a new benchmark in the semiconductor equipment industry, combining innovative financial solutions with the experience, expertise and infrastructure to enable the lease, sale, repositioning and service of new and pre-owned semiconductor manufacturing equipment.
Below are the top five companies in the Semiconductors industry as measured by return on equity (ROE). The ROE is a general indication of the company’s efficiency; Investors usually look for companies with ROEs that are high and are growing.
1. National Semiconductor ranks first with an ROE of 69.4%
2. Altera ranks second with an ROE of 39.6%;
3. MIPS Technologies ranks third with an ROE of 35.3%.
4. Volterra Semiconductor follows with an ROE of 28.1%
5. Texas Instruments rounds out the top five with an ROE of 27.6%.
The economic slowdown in 2009 has affected smart phone manufacturers. Basically, they are not able to satisfy the consumers’ demands for gadgets because of the shortage of chips.
The chip shortage means that Apple’s competitors face serious problems as they do their best to compete with the iPhone. This is a real issue which affects wireless carriers, several of which are facing delay in enhancing their networks. This could also lead to an increase in the price of computers.