CHANDLER, Ariz. – Microchip Technology Inc., a U.S.-based manufacturer of microcontroller, memory and analog semiconductors, has launched a five-year, $65 million investment plan for India that company officials say will lead to the creation of several hundred new jobs at Microchip's campus in Bangalore.

ISELIN, N.J. – When NexAge Technologies USA Inc. was founded in 1999, co-founder Suresh Kumar’s main role was as a financial mind behind the operations, focusing on bringing in private investment to get the company off the ground. During the post-Sept. 11 tech downturn, he stepped in as chief executive officer and has never looked back.

	Spielberg

LOS ANGELES – Executives at the famed Hollywood film-production studio DreamWorks SKG have completed a long-awaited deal with Reliance Big Entertainment, a subsidiary of India's largest privately owned company, that allows DreamWorks co-founders Steven Spielberg and David Geffen to part ways with Paramount Pictures Corp. and start a new venture.

VC Report

Microstaq Inc. has closed a $12.5 million second-round financing. Austin, Texas-based Microstaq designs and manufactures micro electro mechanical systems-based flow control valves that enable material energy savings in HVAC, refrigeration, automotive, and other sectors.

HARTFORD, Conn. – The Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. said it will enter Germany to sell variable annuities starting in the first quarter of 2009. The products will be available through Hartford Life Ltd., the group's European insurer, upon regulatory clearance of the opening of a German branch.

SAN JOSE, Calif. – The American food-retail industry, which has always operated on razor-thin margins, has adopted a number of technological advancements and marketing ploys over the last decade or so in an effort to improve operational efficiency and attract more shoppers.

Web giant doesn’t waver, still hits ground running

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. – Google Inc.'s unofficial company motto is "Launch early and iterate." Yet, it appears that someone at Google didn't get the message that this "launch early" philosophy was not to be taken literally with Chrome, a much-ballyhooed Web browser that the tech giant has been developing over the last few years.

NEW YORK – Technology suppliers have tackled security, storage and asset management concerns triggering U.S. clients to shift systems to offsite, offshore and remote infrastructure outsourcers, according to the Brown-Wilson Group.

NEW YORK – U.S.-based investment bank J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. has opened a trio of new international check-cashing centers in Bahrain, Jakarta, Indonesia; and Pakistan. The new facilities will enable J.P. Morgan Chase to provide its financial institution clients with the ability to clear checks backed by the American dollar in more locations, reducing check transportation costs and risks.

MCLEAN, Va. – LCC Pakistan, an Islamabad-based subsidiary of American wireless-communications-services provider LCC International, has received contracts totaling $8.9 million for engineering, optimization and benchmarking services in the South Asian nation.

LONDON – Report Buyer has released a new report which provides a detailed review of current regulatory challenges and overall wireless/WiMAX market trends in India predicting that there will be up to 21 million WiMAX subscribers in India by 2014.

NEW YORK – The Dynamix Jewelry Group, a jewelry manufacturer based in India, has entered into an agreement to acquire all of JewelAmerica Inc. in a transaction expected to be completed this month.

Desire to help daughter leads to Allergen Block

SOMERVILLE, N.J. – For most Americans, September marks the start of autumn, with cooler daytime temperatures, brisk nights and changing leaves – a time when they can put away their tank tops and break out their sweaters. But for an estimated 40 million people in this country, September means the start of the sneezing season, when allergy triggers like mold spores and plant pollens – ragweed especially – launch their airborne assault.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Fast-food restaurants and other chain outlets are less likely to fail when super-sized training programs prepare fledgling owners for the challenges ahead, according to a study by to college business professors.

LONDON – Cleanliness, quiet and customer service are the top three issues for worldwide travelers, according to a recent survey by TripAdvisor. Eight percent of travelers also professed a concern about bedbugs.

In the early 1900s, when India was part of the British empire, the chairman of the colony’s railway board, Sir Frederick Upcott, was asked for his opinion on Tata – then, a small steel company. Upcott, who had little respect for Tata, responded disdainfully that he would “eat every pound of steel rail” that the company could manufacture to Britain’s high standards.

The U.S. headlines assault our senses daily with earnings taking a hit, investors withholding capital, inflation rearing its ugly head, and seemingly endless volatility in the securities trading markets. How can businesses navigate the maze to seize opportunities in the current economic environment? What recourse do private enterprises have to attain public trading status while mitigating risk?

SAN JOSE, Calif. – Adobe Systems Inc. has acquired YaWah ApS, a European imaging software provider based in Aarhus, Denmark. The acquisition will accelerate the European and global expansion of Adobe Scene7, the leading hosted rich media platform designed for eCommerce and multi-channel marketing companies, the company said.

SILICON VALLEY, Calif. – Proxim Wireless Corp., a provider of broadband wireless systems, has sold substantially all the assets of the Harmonix Division of its Terabeam Corp. subsidiary to Renaissance Electronics Corp. for approximately $5.3 million.

SILICON VALLEY, Calif. – Proxim Wireless Corp., a provider of broadband wireless systems, has sold substantially all the assets of the Harmonix Division of its Terabeam Corp. subsidiary to Renaissance Electronics Corp. for approximately $5.3 million.