HONG KONG -- Global tablet shipments will reach 289 million units in 2014, up from about 240 million last year, new research predicts.

WASHINGTON — Worldwide sales of semiconductors rose 6.8% year-over-year to $27.24 billion in November, the ninth straight month of higher sales. The revenues are based on a three-month moving average.

HOUSTON — STI Electronics has opened an IPC-approved training center here, the company's second in the US. The new center will conduct hands-on classes in basic soldering, J-STD-001 certification, rework and repair, and other IPC quality assurance programs such as IPC-A-610 and IPC/WHMA-A-620.

SHANGHAI -- It looks like businesses in China will ring in the new year with at least one carryover from 2013: wage inflation. Worker pay is expected to see double-digit growth in 2014, continuing a decade-long streak that has begun to hamper China's rate of growth and lead some companies to relocate projects to other countries.