Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEP) led consortium has won a $20.4 billion contract for developing a civilian nuclear program for the United Arab Emirates. Other members of the Korea Electric Power consortium are Hyundai Engineering and Construction, Samsung and Doosan Heavy Industries. The consortium beat a number of prominent bidders like General Electric Co. (GE), Hitachi Ltd. (HIT).

Under the agreement, the Korea Electric Power consortium will design and construct four 1,400 MW units, and provide operational help in running the units. The company estimates that the first of the nuclear units will begin producing electricity in 2017, followed by the other three by 2020.

This is not the first Middle Eastern venture for Korea Electric Power. The company is already building a power plant in western Saudi Arabia for the state-run Saudi Electricity Company. The 1,200 MW oil fired power plant deal in Rabigh was signed between Korea

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Emerson Electric Co. (EMR) reported fourth-quarter earnings per share from continuing operations of 67 cents per share, higher than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 60 cents.   Sales for the fourth quarter ended September 30, 2009 of $5.3 billion, a decrease of 21% from the $6.7 billion for the same period last year. Underlying sales in the quarter declined 20%, which excludes a 2% unfavorable impact from currency exchange rates and a 1% positive impact from acquisitions. Sequentially, fourth quarter sales improved 4.6% versus the third quarter, showing revenue stabilization for the second consecutive quarter.   Process Management sales decreased 13% in the fourth quarter versus the prior year quarter.  This included a 13% underlying sales decline, a 3% unfavorable impact from currency translation and a 3% favorable impact from acquisitions.   Industrial Automation sales were down 36% in the fourth quarter, compared to the fourth quarter ...

Supertex Inc. (SUPX) recently reported revenues of $15.9 million in its fiscal second quarter, down 32% year over year but up 17% sequentially.  The sequential increase in revenues was driven by growth in LED driver products for lighting and backlighting, medical electronics products, and electroluminescent (EL) driver products. Orders for LED and EL driver products surged after Labor Day. The company had to rush these orders through its wafer fab and expedite them through backend assembly and test in order to meet customer demand schedules. Demand for medical ultrasound products is also beginning to rebound, as sales grew 17% sequentially.

Management added that its major customer has increased its LED TV sales estimates for 2009 and 2010 while other customers are also ramping up. Sales of LED driver products for general lighting applications have also increased. In anticipation of new cell phone launches, shipments of EL inverter products ramped

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NTT DoCoMo (DCM), the largest wireless service provider in Japan, has decided to focus strongly on mobile content offerings, which is a new avenue to increase revenue.

DoCoMo will start implementing LTE (Long Term Evolution) networks - the next-generation (4G) high-speed network technology - in Japan from 2010. The main purpose of deploying the LTE network is to offer mobile content services in the matured Japanese telecom market.

LTE is expected to achieve download transmission speeds of 300Mbps and offers several advantages over other wireless techniques. This includes spectral efficiency, lower costs, and solid integration with other open wireless standards. After the introduction of LTE, the existing 3G FOMA handsets of DoCoMo will become compatible with 3G networks of other service providers. DoCoMo will launch LTE handsets in 2011 that are compatible with its current 3G network, enabling customers to access services even if they are outside an LTE coverage

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TOKYO -- May 25, 2009 -- Hitachi, Ltd. (NYSE:HIT)(TOKYO:6501)(hereinafter Hitachi) today announced that Hitachi, Ltd. and Hitachi Vehicle Energy, Ltd. which develops and manufactures lithium-ion batteries for automotive applications, such as hybrid electric vehicles, have developed a lithium-ion battery having the world's highest power density of 4,500 W/kg, 1.7 times the output of the company's mass-produced, automotive lithium-ion batteries.

Japan’s Cabinet Office said today (Wednesday) that economic output fell to its worst levels ever, tumbling an annualized 15.2% in the first quarter, as the worst recession in 60 years hammered exports and consumer demand.

Despite the disturbing news from Japan - the world’s second largest economy - some analysts are optimistic that the record gross domestic production (GDP) decline may be the low point, with business activity picking up from here.

“There was a collapse across the board,” Yoshiki Shinke, a senior economist at Dai-Ichi Life Research Institute in Tokyo, told Bloomberg News. But there’s “light at the end of the tunnel,” he said, adding that he believes the economy will rebound this quarter as companies replace inventories and stimulus plans begin to take effect.

Prime Minster Taro Aso has set forth the largest stimulus plan in Japanese history, promising to pump $160 billion into the economy, mostly

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FedEx Announces Profit, Cost Cuts; Report: Wal-Mart to Sell iPhones; GM Denies Chrysler Merger Talks; Discovery Applying for Bank Status; Initial Jobless Claims Down; Goldman Sells Sanyo Stake to Panasonic; IMF Sees 2009 U.S. Rebound; Carnival Cruises to 4Q Profit

FedEx Corp. (FDX) mixed bad news with good in its latest quarterly report. After posting a profit for its second fiscal quarter, the package delivery giant also said it’s suspending pension contributions, freezing new hires, cutting its CEO’s pay by 20% in order to cut $800 million by the end of its fiscal 2010, Reuters reported. Wal-Mart Inc. (WMT) store representatives told Bloomberg that the world’s largest retailer would begin selling Apple Inc.’s (...

In a sign that the planned construction of new nuclear reactors in the U.S. market could jump-start the nation’s moribund manufacturing sector, France’s Areva SA and defense-industry giant Northrop Grumman Corp. (NOC) have formed a joint venture to make nuclear reactor vessels, steam generators and other related components at Northrop’s Newport News shipyard in Virginia.

The venture – Areva Newport News LLC – will emanate from a $360 million investment, and will lead to the construction of a 300,000-square-foot production-and-engineering facility, the two companies said yesterday (Thursday). It will employ 500 workers when completed in 2011, according to an MSNMoneycentral report.

Mike Petters, president of Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding, the unit that has signed on to work with Areva, told The Wall Street Journal that “we’ve watched manufacturing wane in shipbuilding and we’ve watched for other opportunities to go into adjacent areas…We think a nuclear renaissance

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