APPLE Inc moved a step closer to accessing some 33 million potential iPhone users in China, as regulators authorised specifications for a device that would run on the network of China Telecom Corp.

GERMANY‘S DAX Index closed at its highest level since November 2000. Europe‘s second-biggest maker of semiconductors, Infineon Technologies, paced the gain after it received a mobile-chip order from Nokia Oyj.

THE European Parliament has rejected a law on patents for software, ending a three-year effort by companies including Nokia Oyj and Siemens AG to counter US domination of Europe’s $60 billion (€50.3bn) market.

Laird Group Plc, the world’s biggest maker of electromagnetic shields for mobile phones, will buy antennae maker Centurion Wireless Technologies Inc for $194.4 million to bolster its business with customers such as Nokia Oyj.

Nokia Oyj’s market share fell in the first quarter to the lowest in about five years as clients picked clamshell and camera phones made by Motorola and Samsung Electronics, researcher Gartner has said.

Nokia Oyj’s market share dropped to 29% in the first quarter, the lowest in at least three years, as competitors such as Siemens AG shipped more attractive models, a researcher said.

SIEMENS AG, Germany's largest electronics and engineering company, said it will cut 2,300 jobs at its Information and Communication Mobile (ICM) unit as demand for wireless networks falls.

MOTOROLA INC, the world’s number two mobile telephone maker, reported second-quarter net income of $119 million.