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TAIPEI -- Hon Hai (Foxconn) and IBM reportedly are set to sign a pact to codevelop environment-friendly products.

HELSINKI -- Months after watching Apple steal its thunder in the 3G market, Nokia is readying to return the favor.

Nokia CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo said the world's largest cellphone maker plans to enter the laptop market to capitalize on trends toward cellphone and PC convergence.

According to a report last week by Citigroup, Nokia's first computer will launch in the first half of 2010. The PC, either a netbook or a PC tablet, will probably feature an Intel Atom microprocessor and Linux operating system, Citigroup said. The analyst believes Nokia will outsource production to Compal Electronics or Hon Hai (Foxconn).

Netbooks -- low-cost, stripped-down PCs with minimal software and processing power -- are the fastest-growing segment of the PC market, according to several research firms.

BINGHAMTON, NY – A Universal Instruments spokesperson is disputing a published report in an online newsletter claiming the company has been sold and is being liquidated.

The March 3 edition of CircuitNet claimed, “It appears that Francisco Partners has sold the company to Patriarch Partners LLC, a private equity investment firm.” The story further asserted that Patriarch “is currently managing the day-to-day activities within the company and plans to sell off assets.”

GUADALAJARA – MexitrÃ³nica has issued a call for papers for the Oct. 20-22 electronics trade show.

Guadalajara-based MexitrÃ³nica, now in its 15th year, features tools, materials, capital equipment, components and services used to bring modern electronic products from concept to volume production.

Topics may include circuit or system design; manufacturing yield improvement; means and methods to reduce costs; component developments for embedded functionality; soldering developments and joint reliability; supply chain management; industry trends; emerging technologies; process control, and maximizing returns on the EMS relationship.

Technical presentations are typically 50 minutes to one hour in length. Proposals also are welcome from individuals interested in teaching educational courses related to electronics assembly, advanced packaging, design and development, and high-precision manufacturing. Course length may be half-day or full-day.

Deadline for submissions is April 10.

Email abstracts or proposals to jcarter@rocexhibitions.com.

The event is presented by Mexico’s National Chamber for Electronics, Telecommunication and IT Industries in partnership with ROC Exhibitions Inc.

CHICAGO – IT, including hardware, is one of the big beneficiaries of the US economic stimulus plan, says TFI Quarterly Forum’s chief economist, Matt Chanoff. But, as big as it is, it’s too small to make up directly for the shortfall driven by the global recession, he adds.

More than $65 billion of the plan goes directly into high-tech spending. The top winners are medical infomatics ($22.7 billion); green tech support ($17.3 billion); smart grid power grid development ($11 billion); broadband and video conferencing ($7.5 billion), and automotive green tech ($4 billion).

Approximately one-third of this spending will go directly to hardware, meaning the US government will inject about $22 billion in spending over two years into an industry with $2.2 trillion in annual worldwide revenue, according to Chanoff. In other words, the US government package should directly add about 0.5% to industry revenue, he says.

"Success from the stimulus package requires clarity on what is available and how we can quickly leverage this injection of funds for the benefit of our industry,” said Kathleen Geraghty, TFI Quarterly Forum president.

SAN JOSE, CA – Worldwide semiconductor sales plunged 28.6% year-over-year in January as consumer confidence continued to erode, the Semiconductor Industry Association reported today. Sales fell 11.9% from December, the trade group said.

MULINO, OR – PCB maker Sunstone Circuits and National Instruments are jointly offering an integrated PCB prototype and quickturn design environment.

Once a prototype design is completed using the NI's Multisim or Ultiboard design tools, customers can order prototype PCBs through the Sunstone ECOsystem Design Environment. They will also have access to Sunstone’s live customer support. Engineers can access resources, technical documents and manufacturing information, improving productivity during the design phase.

“NI has collaborated with Sunstone because we share the mission of simplifying the PCB design experience, and we are proud to have Sunstone as part of our PCB design and prototyping network,” said Vincent Accardi, general manager of NI’s Electronics Workbench group, in a press release.

SINGAPORE -- Flextronics laid off more than 100 workers here last week in response to lower demand.

There appears some confusion over the number of workers let go. According to local reports, a company spokesperson said the layoffs affected less than half the factory's workers. But Channel NewsAsia said affected employees claimed upt o 70% of the plant's 280 workers were let go.

ST. LOUIS – LaBarge Inc. received a $1.7 million contract from Northrop Grumman Corp. to continue to produce electronics assemblies for the AN/ALQ-135 radar jammer system.

LaBarge has worked on the program since 2005. The firm expects to receive follow-on orders.

Production on this latest contract is expected to begin this month and continue through December at LaBarge's Tulsa, OK facility.

DUSSELDORF, GERMANY – Henkel’s 2008 adhesive technologies sales rose 17.3% to 6.7 billion euros, boosted by the company’s acquisition of the National Starch businesses. The sector grew 1.3% organically.

MARLBOROUGH, MA – In January, EKRA shipped its 700th screen printer into the Americas, the company says.

EKRA America also announced a successful 2008, which matched 2007, its best year to date.

Headquartered in Marlborough, MA, EKRA America provides screen printing solutions for the SMT, hybrid and semiconductor packaging markets in the Americas.

HAMELN, GERMANY -- Orpro Vision today announced an agreement to acquire Orbotech’s assembly inspection business in a deal expected to close in April.