NEW YORK - Pessimism about a protracted economic downturn washed over the financial markets Thursday, sending stocks plunging and further tightening the credit markets. Reports on declining factory orders and a seven-year high in jobless claims stoked fears that the government's financial rescue plan won't ward off a recession, and the Dow Jones industrials skidded nearly 350 points.

Intel Corp.’s impressive manufacturing capabilities grew even mightier Thursday as the company formally opened its latest $3 billion chip making factory in south Chandler.

Intel picked Chandler for a $5 billion plant that it touts as the most advanced and highest-volume computer chip factory on the globe.

A Nike factory outlet opens this weekend at Arizona Mills mall in Tempe. The 13,320-square-foot store kicks off its Valley debut with a ribbon cutting at 9 a.m. Friday.

Edgerrin James didn’t need to be introduced to Antrel Rolle during his first practice with the Arizona Cardinals. A look and a nod was all it took.

Edgerrin James didn’t need to be introduced to Antrel Rolle during his first practice with the Arizona Cardinals. A look and a nod was all it took.

Today’s column is about spelling, a topic that has been much on the minds of folks here at your East Valley Paragraph Factory. More precisely, the topic is “Spell Check,’’ one of the modern conveniences ushered in by the Computer Age.

Three-Five Systems, the Tempe-based maker of liquid crystal displays and other electronic products, said Wednesday it will move its headquarters to Redmond, Wash., to cut costs and attempt to return to profitability.

Q. I recently purchased a new laptop with Vista. I am very frustrated with it, and since I have a new copy of XP professional I would like to dump Vista and load XP. How should I go about this? - Hugh

Three-Five Systems, the Tempe-based producer of liquid crystal display modules for cell telephones and other products, suffered its seventh consecutive quarterly loss during the last three months of 2002.

With the Airbus A380 jet taking flight in its first commercial service, the chief executive of Airbus Americas will visit Honeywell Aerospace in Tempe on Monday morning to thank employees for the factory’s contribution to the double-decker aircraft.

A construction worker at Spectrum Astro's new “Factory of the Future” in Gilbert commented that it must have been designed by a rocket scientist. In fact, it was.

PHOENIX - Honeywell is cutting more than 200 jobs in Phoenix. Honeywell Process Solutions, a maker of factory-automation systems, says it will cut 240 jobs at its Phoenix facility over the next 18 months and move most of the jobs overseas.

If your factory audio system is a little short on bass response, you might feel obliged to visit the nearest aftermarket car-audio store and lay out a lot of cash for a new subwoofer system.

The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office on Wednesday filed the first case under the 2-year-old employer sanctions law that punishes businesses for knowingly hiring illegal immigrants.

SEATTLE - Delays in Boeing Co.'s 787 program have given the company extra time to fine tune the plane's electronics and other systems, lowering the risk that it will encounter problems during flight testing, the head of its commercial jet division said Wednesday.

General Dynamics has completed the acquisition of Gilbert-based Spectrum Astro, the companies said Friday. With the merger, satellite designer Spectrum Astro becomes part of the General Dynamic C4 Systems business unit based in Scottsdale.

A home-grown Gilbert company that has made a name for itself in the high-prestige space business is being sold, but it will remain under local management.

May 18, 2005

Afew sparkles of luster are returning to the East Valley’s high-technology sector. After a decline in employment in the early 2000s caused by the dot-com bust and recession, most of the East Valley’s major high-tech employers at least maintained their local head counts during 2005.

For nearly a decade, 37-year-old Scott Sanders sat in hotel rooms during business trips across the United States and the world, twiddling his thumbs and listening to a special sound coming from his childhood memory: The grinding roar of race karts.

Three-Five Systems, the Tempe-based producer of liquid crystal displays, said Wednesday it has signed an agreement to sell its small cell-phone display business to International Display-Works for a minimum of $8 million and as much as $21 million.