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PALO ALTO, CA -- Agilent Technologies will acquire Acqiris SA, a Switzerland based manufacturer of high-speed digitizers and analyzers for commercial, industrial and government electronics. The transaction is subject to standard closing conditions. Financial details were not disclosed.

ARLINGTON, VA -- Consumer electronics gifts will account for a quarter of all holiday gifts, with revenues rising 21% to $21 billion this holiday season, the Consumer Electronics Association said.

"The holiday outlook for our industry is a merry one," said director of industry analysis Sean Wargo. "Consumers' confidence in the economy is on the rise and the CE industry will benefit. CE gifts dominate a quarter of the overall holiday gift giving market. And consumers tend to shop with a 'one for you-one for me' mindset during the holiday season. As a result, gifts for others only account for about half of the volume of sales in the fourth quarter."

According to the survey, consumers will spend $195 on average for consumer electronics gifts.

"The upgrade cycle is driving a lot of this growth. Lured in by the declining prices on many new digital products, consumers are spending more for consumer electronics on average than they have in the past. An example of this is the MP3 player versus the portable CD player. The initial price for an MP3 player is higher than the initial price five or 10 years ago for a portable CD player," said Wargo.

For the second year in a row, the most popular item among adults to give or get is MP3 players. The rest of the top 10 list includes all types DVD players/recorders, digital cameras, laptops and PCs, televisions, video game systems, cellphones, camcorders and HDTV.

Topping the gift list, or what consumers actually plan to buy, this holiday season are digital cameras, cellphones, MP3 players, video game consoles, portable CD players, carrying cases, cordless phones, additional memory for digital cameras, laptops and clock radios.

Teen aged 12 to 17 selected MP3 players, video game consoles and computers.

MILPITAS, CA - Lenthor Engineering had published the latest version of its Flexible Circuit Design Guide. The updated document, revision 6.0, provides more comprehensive technical descriptions of material construction requirements for the full range of flexible circuitry. It includes full-color graphics and descriptions on construction of single-sided, double-sided and multilayer flexible circuits. The book covers standards, flex circuit types and classifications, terminology, manufacturing tolerances, construction of single- and double-sided and multilayer flex and rigid-flex boards, drawing notes, panelization, limitations, electrical design, stiffeners, and hole-to-copper features. It is available online at www.lenthor.com.

YAVNE, ISRAEL – Valor Computerized Systems installed its Trilogy 5000 pre-production engineering software and parts library at Hitachi’s manufacturing facility in Orléans (Loiret), France. Hitachi’s machine program processing time has reportedly been reduced by 50% since the installation, Valor said in a press statement. Valor’s parts library is an online data service covering more than 36 million component geometries. Trilogy 5000 is a pre-production engineering tool for NPI, assembly preparation and optimization, test and factory floor documentation.

HIALEAH, FL -- The Nasdaq Listing Qualifications Panel has found electronics contract manufacturer Simclar Inc. in compliance with all applicable listing standards and listing of the company's shares on the Nasdaq exchange will continue.

In August Nasdaq had issued a delisting warning for Simclar's failure to file on time its second quarter 10-Q report. The delay in filing the report resulted from a review of accounting errors discovered by the company at its Brownsville, TX, and Matamoros, Mexico, facilities.

Simclar filed its second quarter report on Oct. 27, along with an amended 2005 10-K and amended 10-Q for the first quarter of 2006, both of which restated financial statements for to correct accounting errors at Simclar (Mexico) Inc.

MINNEAPOLIS -- EMS provider Nortech Systems today reported net sales rose 21% to $25.3 million for its third quarter ended Sept. 30. Net income rose 17% to $304,587 versus the third quarter 2005.

Year-to-date the company's net sales are up 28% to $77.5 million, and net income is up 76% to $498,210.

"This was an excellent quarter for us at the top line and in terms of profitability," said Mike Degen, president and CEO. "Our growth rate continues to exceed the industry average and we believe we are well-positioned for the remainder of 2006 and beyond."

The company is on pace to surpass $100 million in revenue this fiscal year, up more than 20% from 2005. The industry average is about 11%, Degen said.

Three-month order backlogs rose 12% during the third quarter. In October the company secured an $8.5 million order for custom cable assemblies from a U.S. defense contractor, deliverable over the next 12 months.

Nortech raised its earnings for fiscal 2006 to 46 to 48 cents, compared with the 36 cents last year. The company expects revenues of $102 million to $104 million, an increase of 21 to 24% over last year.