INTEL

Shares of Intel shot up as the company released first quarter results that reassured investors who were concerned about falling memory chip prices and the impact of a weak U.S. economy.

Intel continued to show commitment to strengthen its business in China, and support to its customers, by offering $12 million investment to Shanghai Media Group (SMG), one of China's biggest broadcasters, to help it develop its TV service.

Intel introduced a $500 million China fund in an effort to increase investments in companies in the world's biggest semiconductor market.

Hewlett Packard unveiled on Tuesday a small laptop, joining the growing market of pint-sized computers which is dominated by Intel Corp., and Asustek Computers Inc.

Apple posted the highest growth rates in terms of shipments, among the top 6 computer vendors according to research released this week.

E-mail messages from Microsoft executives released this week reveal technical and marketing struggles the company faced in launching the Windows Vista operating system last year.

Technology related stocks rose Friday afternoon while tax-maker Intuit stumbled after reporting a drop in second quarter profit.

Intel unveiled a new high-end computing platform at the Game Developers Conference on Tuesday, which includes two quad-core processors and graphic cards.

U.S. stocks dropped for the first time this week on Thursday, after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke forecasted sluggish economic growth in 2008. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 175.3 points, or 1.4 percent, to end at 12,377, with all but one of its 30 components ending in the red.

Reports surfaced on Wednesday that chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices may be struggling with its latest notebook platform which may cause a leadership shakeup, or even acquisition.

Intel, the world's biggest computer chipmaker was raided by the European Union competition regulators on allegations it abused its market position.

The European Commission conducted antitrust raids against Intel Corp's Munich offices on Tuesday and against retailers selling products of the world's largest chip maker, the Commission and the chip maker said.

Dell said on Friday that it cut a majority of computers from its website which feature processors from Advanced Micro Devices, adding to the woes of chipmaker's ailing stock.

Graphics chip maker Nvidia announced on Tuesday that it will acquire physics technology developer Ageia in a move that may bring more realism to gamers

Microsoft on Wednesday unveiled its plan to invest $235 million in its partners in learning program over the next five years.

Dell Inc returned to double-digit percentage growth in global PC shipments in the fourth quarter as its new retail sales strategy began to pay off, while rival Hewlett-Packard Co's growth slowed, technology researcher IDC said on Wednesday. Overall, global personal computer sales rose a healthy but less-than-expected 15.5 percent in the fourth quarter, and economic concerns were likely to cut into future demand, IDC said.

Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac has launched at this year's Macworld Expo, four years after the last edition. The new suite of productivity applications for the Macintosh operating system is built specifically for the Mac and is tailored to feel like a native application. The software was created by Microsoft's Macintosh Business Unit, which is dedicated to products on that operating system.

U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday, after JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Wells Fargo & Co. reported quarterly results not worse than expectations, giving some hope that the battered financial sector may be able to cut some of its losses.

Intel reported disappointing earnings for its fourth quarter and an outlook for the current quarter that were below Wall Street expectations, dimming the near future view for electronics.

Intel on Tuesday posted quarterly results and an outlook behind Wall Street targets, sending its shares down 15 percent, further stoking concerns the U.S. economy may be entering a recession. Chief Financial Officer Stacy Smith said he was a little bit cautious on the state of the U.S. economy, and the results raised concerns about the impact the economy was already having on the world's largest chipmaker.

Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs takes the stage today at the Macworld Expo in San Francisco where many are expecting him to unveil the company's smallest notebook computer ever.