It is no secret that in tough economic times, corporate spending on research and development often takes a hit. So it should be no surprise that Technology Review's annual survey of R&D expenditures by 150 top public companies reveals a mixed picture. Spending levels at some of the world's largest research-oriented organizations, including Microsoft and Siemens, continued to rise. But at a number of other companies―particularly those within the economically troubled telecommunications and semiconductor sectors―spending shrank. Our "Corporate R&D Scorecard" shows that the picture is most dismal in telecommunications. The situation was slightly better at top semiconductor manufacturers Intel and Texas Instruments, both of which reported modest cuts in R&D budgets. Corporate frugality extended to other industries as well: a number of the traditional research powerhouses―3M and DuPont, for example―also trimmed budgets.
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