Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao must have a diabolic sense of humor. On the same day China hauled the European Union before the World Trade Organization for allegedly unfair subsidies given by governments on the continent to Europe's troubled solar panel manufacturers, the Chinese leader called for closer trade cooperation between Europe and Asia to boost…
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The economy is still sluggish, and we know who to blame — sort of. We can't quite put our finger on the culprit. Deep within the greatest economic system ever devised, there lurks a gnawing parasite that devours the nourishment of capitalism from within. Every day, almost complacently, our captains of industry invoke this dark…
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The distribution industry has several distinct business models for a reason: Every customer profile is different. DIY-ers, labs, hobbyists, and small and emerging customers most often turn to catalogue distributors for low-volume engineering orders. Though some houses still publish paper catalogues, others that specialize in the low-volume, high-mix order profile prefer the term “high-service distributor.”…
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As election day approaches, it's worth noting that technology policy has gotten next to no attention by either presidential candidate. During all the stump speeches and debates, neither man has made technology a part of his campaign promises. It's been there indirectly in at least in some of the campaign pledges. President Barack Obama says…
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One of the hottest debates these days is how to create more jobs, and for good reason. But ironically, it can often be difficult to fill the job openings a company actually has because they require a very specific set of skills and knowledge that can be hard to come by. Workers looking for jobs…
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{complink 379|Apple Inc.} experienced a sharp drop in tablet marketshare in the third quarter. Its growth trailed the overall industry expansion rate as consumers waited for the debut of the mini iPad and pressure continued from Samsung and other rivals, according to a research report from IDC. In the third quarter, Apple shipped 14 million…
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Distribution isn't for sissies. That was clear to the hardy entrepreneurs who pioneered the sector in the 1920s by offering parts to the nascent radio industry. Their successors today at the industry's leading players have also learned that playing in a highly cyclical market like electronics requires constant flexibility and vigilance combined with the willingness…
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Downturns have a way of highlighting things that aren't working very well, and design registration is one of them. The practice, in which distributors are rewarded for designing a supplier's component into an end product, has operated the same way since the 1980s. The idea of revising it has come up numerous times, but channel…
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The electronics market may still wring out a respectable finish to the year if rising consumer confidence in the United States translates into strong sales during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday period. A recent report from the Conference Board, an industry organization that monitors conditions in the US economy, says consumer confidence surged in October…
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The global marketing and analytics company IHS Corp. recently issued a press release titled “Vast Majority of Electronic Companies Not Yet Ready for U.S. Conflict Minerals Law.” IHS surveyed large electronic original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and found 90 percent haven't yet produced the necessary data, declarations, or documentation needed to fulfill regulatory requirements. Only 11.3…
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