PARIS – Catherine Cardinal-Simon from Thales Microelectronic won the IPC Hand Soldering Competition at IFTEC, taking home a cash prize of €300 and a JBC soldering station. She earned 443 points out of a possible 446.

TAIPEI – Foxconn and IDG Capital plan to raise $1.5 billion to seed startups in automotive technologies from self-driving AI to battery development, according to published reports.

SAN FRANCISCO – Awareness of green electronics is growing, but compliance is not.

BANNOCKBURN, IL – A new report by IPC reveals cycles in demand for PCB prototypes that often differ from demand trends in regular or volume-production PCB sales.

SOUTHLAKE, TX – A private equity firm has acquired local EMS company VirTex Enterprises, it was announced today.

WASHINGTON -- The US Patent Office has awarded Battelle Memorial Institute a patent for a method to distinguish fake electronic components from real ones.

HERTFORDSHIRE, UK – Worldwide consumer electronics sales grew 0.3% in 2016 to reach $673 billion, on track to achieve 1.7% CAGR through 2021, according to Futuresource Consulting.

TAIPEI – Four major Taiwan-based ODMs reported increased consolidated revenues for September.

FRAMINGHAM, MA – Worldwide shipments of traditional PCs (desktop, notebook, workstation) totaled 67.2 million units in the third quarter, which translates into a slight year-over-year decline of 0.5%, according to IDC.

GAUDALAJARA, MEXICO -- GPV officially opened its 48,000 sq. ft. electronics assembly plant here with a ceremony involving several politicians and other dignitaries.

BATAM, INDONESIA -- Sanmina SCI has closed its assembly plant here following ongoing worker strikes that disrupted production.

SANTA ROSA, CA – Keysight Technologies today announced that its corporate headquarters here is temporarily shut down due to the wildfires burning in the area.