NEW YORK -- As smartphone vendors and component suppliers continue to expand into the wearables market, smartwatches will comprise about 40% of consumer wristworn devices by 2016, Gartner predicts.

COLUMBUS, OH -- The Defense Logistics Agency reaffirmed DNA marking will continue to be an integral part of its program to deter and detect counterfeit microcircuits in Federal Supply Class (FSC) 5962.

SIEVI, FINLAND – Scanfil says, due to better than expected profitability in the third quarter, it is changing its full-year 2014 operating profit outlook to 14.5 to 16 million euro.

AMHERST, MA -- A new study of some 501 electronics workers in Malaysia found that 28% in situations of forced labor.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA -- The proliferation of advanced electronic products and complex electronic content is compelling OEMs to outsource testing needs to EMS providers, a new report asserts.

NEWARK, NY – The US District Court for the Southern District of New York has dismissed the consolidated securities class action lawsuit against IEC Electronics, its CEO and CFO.

WASHINGTON -- Nvidia is suing Qualcomm and Samsung over the import and use of the latter's GPUs, which Nvidia claims infringe its patents.

AUSTIN, TX -- Major DRAM makers Micron, SK Hynix, and Samsung have announced versions of stacked memory with through silicon vias (TSVs) for high-performance applications.

JAKARTA -- Foxconn's push for cheap land is not making friends in the local government here, and is hindering the EMS giant's ability to open a manufacturing center, according to reports. 

ELK GROVE VILLAGE, IL -- SigmaTron International reported lower quarterly profits and sales for its fiscal quarter ended July 31 as shipments experienced an unexpected drop. 

SCHAUMBURG, IL -- Sparton reported fiscal fourth quarter net income fell 52% to $3 million on a 15% rise in sales. 

SAN FRANCISCO -- The semiconductor industry recovery will continue next year with revenues and unit shipments expected to grow at robust rates, says a new report from the SEMI trade group. 

Front-end fab equipment spending is expected to rise 21% this year to $34.9 billion, and 20% next year to $42 billion, SEMI said.

The record for front-end spending is $40 billion, set in 2011.

While almost all the spending is going toward development of 300mm fabs, yet spending on 200mm fabs is expected to rise 10% this year and 12% in 2015.  

Taiwan leads all regions in investment, at $9.7 billion, followed by the Americas ($7.8 billion), Korea ($6.8 billion), China ($4.6 billion) and Japan ($1.9 billion). SEMI forecasts Taiwan's spend will grow more than 20% to $12 billion in 2015, with major gains also seen in Korea ($8 billion), China ($5 billion) and Japan ($4.2 billion). The Americas will be roughly flat at $7.9 billion. Spending in Europe is expected to nearly double to $3.8 billion.

Most of the spend will be on equipment upgrades, not new capacity. SEMI expects a growth rate of less than 3% for new capacity, similar to 2011 and 2012. DRAM capacity, in particular, has been flaccid, and while higher investment is expected for that segment in 2014 and 2015, the rates are still negative until the end of 2015.