News from the Financial Times technology feeds
Motorola cuts 3,000 jobs and delays spin-off
Motorola is cutting 3,000 jobs and delaying the spin-off of its loss-making mobile phone business after suffering a $397m loss in the third quarter amid a dramatic fall in handset sales
Chipmaker warns of global sales decline
TSMC chief executive says industry revenues in 2009 will fall by up to 10% in 'an unusually challenging environment' amid the financial crisis
Netbooks lead computer growth
Despite the downturn in the economy, an unexpected surge in global consumer demand for 'netbooks' or mini-notebooks, has turned them into one of the hottest new consumer-tech products in years
Mobile makers braced for painful 2009
The world's leading mobile phone makers are braced for a painful 2009 after warnings that sales of handsets could fall sharply for the first time in eight years
Microsoft looks to cloud to open new windows
If Microsoft fails to lay out a compelling plan for how it will adapt to the new world of internet-based computing, it would add to a nagging concerns that the company is falling behind in the biggest transition to hit information technology in years
Microsoft results offer hope to tech sector
Microsoft is weathering the economic downturn better than expected, with sales in the three months to the end of September topping Wall Street estimates, according to new figures
Amazon wins over sceptics about web services
When Amazon Web Services was launched in March 2006, investors thought the hundreds of millions of dollars the retailer was spending to build up its infrastructure and hire engineers were hard to justify. Today the move seems less contentious
Sony slashes forecast on strong yen
Sony blamed an economic change "defying imagination" as it slashed its profit forecasts, raising fears that it could even slide into losses in the second half of this year unless the euro recovers against the yen
Google Russian purchase blocked
Moscow antitrust body steps in to $140m pursuit of Russian advertising business that would have raised search company's profile
AT&T profits dented by iPhone subsidies
AT&T, the largest US telecommunications group, is paying the price for the success of Apple's 3G iPhone launched on July 11 with a substantial subsidy from its mobile network unit
Amazon forecast highlights holiday fears
Amazon underlined the uncertainty facing retail sales this Christmas, forecasting fourth-quarter sales in the broad range of $6bn to $7bn – representing growth of as low as 6 per cent or as high as 23 per cent on the same period last year
Yahoo to axe 10% of workforce
Yahoo announced a cut of at least 10 per cent in its workforce by the end of the year as it reported a disappointing third quarter caused by weakening display advertising sales
Apple cautious in spite of profit rise
Apple cited the souring economy as it cut its forecast for the current quarter, even as profits rose by more than expected following a big jump in sales of its iPhone mobile handset
Rivals take aim at iPhone's App Store
Apple's rivals are making moves to match the runaway success of its iPhone platform with their own versions of its store for applications and games from outside developers
Samsung Electronics drops bid for SanDisk
Samsung Electronics, the world's largest maker of memory chips, said that it was withdrawing its $5.85bn unsolicited bid for US-based flash memory card maker SanDisk