SAN FRANCISCO -- Weak demand in Europe and the US has 2011 off to a slow start for PCs, a leading analyst said today.

STOCKHOLM – Pick-and-place OEM Mydata reported 2010 net sales rose 30% year-over-year to SEK 615 million ($96.9 million), buoyed by an industrywide jump in demand for SMT equipment.

DULUTH, GA – Texas Instruments said it would purchase National Semiconductor for about $6.5 billion cash.

ARLINGTON, VA -- The Electronic Components Industry Association has published status reports from electronics component manufacturers affected by the Japan earthquake and tsunami, and says there is little cause for concern over contamination of electronics goods.

LOS ANGELES -- In a surprise move, Ducommun Inc. has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire all outstanding stock and debt of electronics manufacturing services firm LaBarge for $340 million, subject to approval by LaBarge shareholders and other closing conditions.

TAIPEI – Foxconn International Holdings, the cellphone manufacturing arm of the world’s largest electronics ODM, said it would sell assets to the parent company after reporting a steep drop in annual profits.

EL SEGUNDO, CA -- Japan's earthquake and resultant impact the global electronics supply chain will be the focus of an IHS iSuppli webinar this morning.

EL SEGUNDO, CA -- Semiconductor sales fell sequentially in the fourth quarter, the first sequential drop in 18 months.

SAN JOSE -- The heads of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and the Semiconductor Industry Association sent a detailed letter to Congress yesterday advocating for immigration reform.

MILWAUKEE – Plexus Corp. was named a 2010 Wisconsin Manufacturer of the Year.

The EMS firm was awarded the Customer Commitment Special Award.

Seven Wisconsin firms won awards, competing against 53 total nominees. Awards were selected by an independent panel of judges.

TAIPEI, TAIWAN – Foxconn International, Hon Hai’s cellphone manufacturing subsidiary, posted a full-year 2010 net loss of $218.3 million, compared with net income of $38.6 million in 2009.

Sales dropped 8% year-over-year to $6.63 billion.

The firm is selling its Taiyuan, China, unit to its parent to reduce costs.

BANNOCKBURN, IL – IPC has released IPC-9708, Test Methods for Characterization of PCB Pad Cratering.

The standard provides three standardized test methodologies that enable product developers to determine the best material for their application.

IPC-9708 provides test methods to evaluate the susceptibility of printed board assembly materials and designs to cohesive dielectric failure underneath surface mount technology attach pads. The test methods, including cold ball pull, ball shear and hard pin pull, can be used to rank order and compare different printed board materials and design parameters.

The standard can be used in the process of building test coupons and running tests on these coupons.

IPC says companies using IPC-9708 will see substantial cost reductions by reducing the burden of verification and qualification.

For more information, visit www.ipc.org/9708.