MILPITAS, CA – Worldwide semiconductor manufacturing equipment billings reached a historic high in the first quarter, up 30% year-over-year and 12% sequentially to $17 billion, says SEMI.

CAIRO – Foxconn may invest an as-yet undisclosed sum to open a plant in Egypt to build electronics assemblies intended for export, according to reports.

DES PLAINES, IL – IPC E-Textiles 2018 technical and business education workshop will take place on Sept. 13 here.

TABY, SWEDEN – Mycronic continued its acquisition push today, purchasing 100 percent of MRSI Systems for $40.7 million in cash.

STAMFORD, CT – Global sales of smartphones to end-users returned to growth in the first quarter, rising 1.3% over 2017, according to Gartner. Sales of total mobile phones reached 455 million units, the research firm added.

FRAMINGHAM, MA – Worldwide spending on augmented reality and virtual reality (AR/VR) is forecast to achieve a five-year CAGR of 71.6% over the 2017-2022 forecast period, according to the International Data Corp.

FRAMINGHAM, MA – Global shipments of personal computing devices (PCDs) are expected to decline 3.5% year-over-year in 2018, says the International Data Corp. Looking ahead, PCDs are expected to drop at a five-year CAGR down 1.8%.

BANNOCKBURN, IL — North American printed circuit board fabricators reported shipments rose 8.8% year-over-year in April on a 90-day moving average.

WASHINGTON --- In response to the European Commission’s (EC) proposed framework for screening foreign direct investments (FDI), SEMI offers three recommendations for consideration by EU policymakers.

WASHINGTON — The Semiconductor Industry Association today welcomed recommendations agreed to by global semiconductor industry leaders at the 22nd annual meeting of the World Semiconductor Council (WSC) this week in San Diego. 

MILTON, NY -- Sono-Tek reported fiscal fourth quarter revenue of $2.8 million, up 13% from a year ago.

ALBANY, NY – The conformal coatings market for printed circuit boards is anticipated to expand at a CAGR of 5.6% from 2018 to 2026 to $14.4 billion, according to Transparency Market Research (TMR). That’s up from sales of $8.87 billion in 2017, the research firm said.