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CORK, IRELAND – Sanmina-SCI is cutting about 150 contract workers from its site in Fermoy, according to reports.

The workers were informed yesterday morning. Full-time staff may also face cuts, the report said.

SPOKANE VALLEY, WA – A General Dynamics subsidiary here will close in June, with 300 employees laid off.

Itronix, which builds rugged laptops and other mobile devices, will outsource production to US-based contract assemblers, a General Dynamics spokeswoman told Circuits Assembly. The company is currently reviewing potential suppliers, spokeswoman Fran Jacques added.

The company told workers the layoffs would start April 24, and final operations at the site would wind down in June. A source at the company said 60 positions would be given the option to relocate and 20 more would be offered telecommuting jobs.

While production will be performed by outside assemblers, engineering design will be moved to Sunrise, FL, Jacques said. "Itronix is still in the rugged computer business," she said.

ARLINGTON, VA – Consumer confidence in the overall economy was virtually unchanged in February, according to figures released by the Consumer Electronics Association and CNET. Despite positive growth in certain categories, such as digital displays, the CEA-CNET Indexes also show that consumer expectations about technology spending continue to fall.

The CEA-CNET Index of Consumer Expectations (ICE) reached 166.4 in February, relatively unchanged from January, when the index measured 166.6. The index is down over 12 points from this time last year.

“We are now 14 months into the recession, and consumers remain anxious about the future,” said Shawn DuBravac, CEA’s economist and director of research.

“Unemployment continues to rise and the two key sources of financial wealth – real estate and stocks – remain muted.”

Consumer confidence in CE and technology dropped nearly 9 points in February 2009 to 68.4, the lowest level since the CEA-CNET Indexes were initiated in January of 2007. The 8.9-point drop was the third largest single-month decline for the CEA-CNET Index of Consumer Technology Expectations (ICTE). The ICTE, which measures consumers’ confidence in consumer electronics and technology, is down over 21 points from this same time last year.

“Consumers continue to delay discretionary purchases, and we are in the midst of one of the worst drops in consumer spending in the last 40 years,” said DuBravac. “The drop in February is not completely surprising considering the decent strength in consumer spending on technology in January. While consumer spending is down across the board, we are still seeing positive growth in several product categories such as digital displays, accessories and video games.”

The CEA-CNET Indexes are comprised of the ICE and the ICTE, both of which are updated on a monthly basis through consumer surveys.

ARLINGTON, VA – The Consumer Electronics Association this week applauded President Barack Obama for his focus on reducing the federal deficit as a critical component to addressing the fiscal problems facing the country. CEA believes the ballooning deficit is a principal impediment to long-term economic growth, the trade group said.

CEA is urging the federal government to reduce the deficit by committing to the follow actions:

End corporate bailouts, including the Troubled Asset Relief Program, that artificially prop up industries, and end “Buy American” and other bailout provisions that reward backward protectionist policies that will hurt America’s ability to compete in the global economy.

Oppose the Employee Free Choice Act, or “card check,” and other anti-business measures that hurt American employers and infringe on the rights of workers.

Pass pending free trade agreements, particularly those with Colombia, Panama and South Korea, to boost U.S. exports and let American companies fairly compete with their international trading partners.

Support the free and open market and promote technology innovation by U.S. companies. When aided by trade, the technology industry will help mend the global economy and drive the creation of new jobs.

SMYRNA, GA -- Virtual PCB, the only online trade show for the electronics assembly market, opens today.

The free event features several top assembly equipment providers, including Assembleon, Agilent, Valor and BTU.

STAMFORD, CT — Worldwide vertical market IT spending is projected to rise 0.5% year-over-year to $2.7 trillion in 2009, according to Gartner, Inc. Utilities, healthcare and government are expected to be the strongest-growing segments of the market .

The firm blames the worldwide economic slowdown for the tepid growth. Says John-David Lovelock, research vice president for Gartner, “Internal spending, hardware and system integration in the financial sector were particularly hard-hit in 2008 and will continue suffering through 2009.”

The utilities industry is forecast to grow the most in 2009 - 2.9%. Smart grids and energy supplies are viewed as national and strategic issues in many countries, and spending on IT is a necessity. The healthcare industry is expected to post the second-highest increase, at 2.2%. Countries in which healthcare is primarily publicly funded will be sheltered from the worst of the economic turmoil, and governments tend to keep healthcare funding at least stable during the worst economic conditions, Gartner says.

Uncertainty about the depth and duration of the economic slowdown dominated the banking and investment sector in the last quarter of 2008. This uncertainty led to declines and postponements in IT spending at many large financial services companies, and this is expected to continue in 2009 as worldwide financial services IT spending is forecast to decline 0.7%. The US financial services sector is forecast to be hardest hit, however, major IT investments in less-affected countries such as Canada and Mexico and regions such as the Middle East and Africa will minimize the decline in the sector worldwide.

MACAO, CHINA -- Nam Tai Electronics will attempt to privatize its Hong Kong Stock Exchange-listed subsidiary for about $43 million in cash.

Nam Tai, the world's 17th largest EMS comnpany, has a 74.9% stake in the subsidiary, Nam Tai Electronic & Electrical Products Ltd.

The offer is contingent of at least 90% acceptance of outstanding (non Nam Tai-owned) shares. It is expected that the results will be known and released in April.

NEW YORK -- A Morgan Stanley analyst cuts her forecast for PC sales and shipments for 2009 and 2010, citing weak demand and price-undercutting by low-cost netbooks.

In a research note today, Kathryn Huberty forecast global PC revenues would drop 24% this year, more than double her earlier estimate of a 10% drop. Shipments will fall 11%, she wrote, and ASPs will drop 15%.

She also revised her 2010 forecast to a 3% revenue drop, from flat, despite 2% shipment growth.

Netbooks, Huberty says, are cannibalizing traditional notebook sales, taking a 20% share (22 million units) in 2009. Netbook production will rise 41% to 31 million units in 2010, she said. Netbooks are typically priced at no more than half the cost of a traditional notebook.

VELDHOVEN, NETHERLANDS -- AssemblÃ©on will continue to market and sell Yamaha's placement machines globally, extending the long-running partnership to 20 years. The latest deal broadens the agreement to give AssemblÃ©on global dealership for Yamaha machines outside Asia to include other assembly process equipment.

LITTLETON, MA – Bureau Veritas Consumer Products Services will relocate to a new facility here in late March.

The 60,000 sq. ft. test center is three times the size of its existing building, and reportedly the largest comparable electronics test laboratory in the eastern US.

It is outfitted with test equipment for assessing and certifying virtually all electronics, such as wireless devices, telecommunications equipment, computers, servers, laboratory instruments, medical devices and consumer electronics.

The company employs 60 workers in Littleton.

CARLSBAD, CA – YesTech, a supplier of automated optical and x-ray inspection systems, has moved into Asymtek’s site in Carlsbad, CA.

Both companies are subsidiaries of Nordson Corp.

The 123,000 sq. ft. facility serves as both companies’ corporate headquarters and main manufacturing site, offering technical services, sales and customer support, dem labs and customer training.

The facility also provides YesTech with expanded manufacturing capabilities.

EL SEGUNDO, CA – Global shipments of displays for mobile handsets are expected to decline more than 6% in 2009 and remain flat in 2010, as worsening economic conditions continue to impact the wireless industry, says iSuppli Corp.

iSuppli forecasts the mobile handset display market will decline to 1.5 billion units in 2009, down 6.2% year-over-year. Shipments will rise by a marginal 0.3% in 2010. The market won’t recover to exceed the 2008 level until 2011, when shipments will reach 1.65 billion units.

“The handset display market already was struggling in 2008 due to declining average selling prices and dwindling margins,” said Vinita Jakhanwal, principal analyst for mobile displays at iSuppli. “However, the downturn now is beginning to impact unit shipments, leading to revenue declines for the industry this year and next.

“The decreasing replacement rate for handsets due to deteriorating economic conditions will be the main cause for the market downturn. New handset demand from the emerging countries will not be sufficient to offset this decline.”

Beyond the slowdown, a major buildup in inventories of finished handsets will make the decline more severe in the beginning, says the firm. Indications of an inventory correction already had a major impact on the industry in the fourth quarter.

In response to this, handset display shipments from the top suppliers declined more than 40% sequentially in the fourth quarter.

During the current quarter, demand is expected to shore up slightly because of demand associated with the Chinese New Year, driven by domestic Chinese handset makers and the top-tier cellphone brands, according to iSuppli.

The mobile handset market has been characterized by declining display prices over the last few years. This mainly has been a result of the expansion of TFT-LCD capacity, as new investment has enabled newer generation fabs to meet the expanding demand for monitors, notebooks and LCD TVs.

Despite the economic slowdown, mobile-display panel pricing for all screen sizes and technologies is expected to maintain its historical annual decline rate of 15% to 20% this year. iSuppli believes the ASP decline in 2009 won’t be as severe as it was in 2008 for some specific panel types. Most suppliers have implemented capacity cuts and reduced their fab utilization rates in response to the slowing demand. This will help mitigate some of the more precipitous declines in prices, says the firm.

Despite decreases in pricing and declines in shipments, it is unlikely that top-tier customers will have difficulties procuring panels in 2009. With the current cuts in capacity utilization, the level of oversupply in the small/medium TFT-LCD industry may shrink, but it is doubtful any shortages will occur. When suppliers see orders increasing, they can ramp up production again easily.

It won’t be an easy 2009 for small/medium TFT-LCD mobile handset display suppliers, and 2010 will be only marginally better. However, if the suppliers can withstand the price cuts, volume reductions and capacity utilization drops, they should be positioned for a turnaround in 2011, iSuppli believes.