Corporate

After more than four years of convoluted negotiations (both bilaterally and domestically), Congress today finally approved the legislation necessary to ratify and implement the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA). This long overdue action is an important step in U.S. trade policy, and will help open new opportunities and new markets. And the agreement was ratified just in time to welcome South Korea’s President Lee Myung-bak to a joint meeting of Congress on Thursday afternoon and to the White House for a state dinner on Thursday evening.The KORUS FTA bill was approved as part of a package of trade-related measures, which also included agreements with Colombia and Panama and an extension of Trade Adjustment Assistance program for displaced U.S. workers. In total, it is estimated that these three agreements would boost U.S. exports by about $13 billion annually – with approximately $10-$11 billion alone stemming from implementation of the KORUS FTA.

Applied Materials announced the signing of a definitive merger agreement under which Applied will acquire Varian for $63 per share in cash for a total price of approximately $4.9 billion on a fully-diluted basis.The acquisition will extend Applied's leadership in wafer fabrication equipment (WFE) with the addition of the technology leader in ion implantation - a critical step in integrated circuit manufacturing.

Repeated over and over during the 8th Annual CEO Business Climate Summit were two important topics for the future success of high tech companies in California — an educated workforce and innovation.Applied Materials chairman and CEO, Mike Splinter (left), Facebook chief operating officer, Sheryl Sandberg (second from left), Governor of the State of California, Jerry Brown (center), and SunPower CEO, Tom Werner (second from right), joined a panel discussion moderated by Barbara Marshman (right), editorial page editor at the San Jose Mercury News, to exchange ideas on how to strengthen California’s economy and business climate.

Today we're announcing a new initiative to identify and invest in early-stage, privately-held Chinese companies with promising technologies that can advance or complement the company’s core expertise, particularly in the areas of cleantech, display and semiconductor manufacturing.

Mike Splinter, Applied Materials chairman and CEO, discusses on CNBC Squawk Box the company’s business in Japan, solar and semiconductor technology and the future of innovation.

<<New information regarding Applied's support for relief efforts in 6th paragraph>>

Investor's Business Daily interviews Applied Materials' Charlie Gay on how the company is managing for success with its diversication into the solar business and focus on crystalline silicon solar, and just how far the solar industry has come in 30 years. 

Applied Materials moved up a spot and ranked third behind Intel and Texas Instruments in the ‘semiconductor’ industry on the Most Admired companies list and received an overall score of 6.78. Applied Materials has been on FORTUNE's Most Admired companies list since 1998. The full list is available on FORTUNE’s web site.Per FORTUNE's web site, companies are rated by executives, directors, and analysts in their own industry on nine criteria, from innovation and global competitiveness to social responsibility.

 The Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Technology Review announced today that Applied Materials placed on the 2011 TR50, their second annual list of the 50 most innovative companies in the world.