U.S. stocks rose Tuesday, led by the technology sector following strong earnings from Apple, while investor sentiment was boosted by a better-than-expected reading on consumer confidence.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 55 points, or 0.5%, at 10251, in recent trading. Earlier in the session, the Dow had been off as much as 41 points. Alcoa was the measure's best performer, up 4%, after metals futures reversed prior losses. Travelers was also strong, up 3.6% as the insurer's fourth-quarter earnings jumped 60% to its highest quarterly profit since going public in 2002. American Express and Caterpillar also helped lift the Dow, up more than 2% each.

Princeton Security Technologies, Inc. (OTCBB: PSGY), through its wholly owned subsidiary, Princeton Gamma-Tech Instruments (PGT), a leading supplier of X-ray and Gamma-ray Detectors and Spectroscopy systems, portable Radioisotope Identifiers, announced today that it has signed a distribution agreement with Technology Experts Co in Riyadh , Saudi-Arabia. Princeton Gamma-Tech Instruments signed a distribution agreement as well as received purchase orders with a total value of in excess of half a million US dollars ($500 000) in the Kingdom of Saudi-Arabia with a local company,

Integrated Device Technology Inc's (IDTI.O) third-quarter loss shrunk 98 percent, helped by lower expenses, and the diversified chipmaker forecast fourth-quarter revenue mostly in line with market expectations. 

The company, which makes chips for notebooks, smarphones, digital television and audio products, expects fourth-quarter revenue of $135 million, plus or minus $3 million, it said on a conference call.

Analysts were expecting revenue of $134.4 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. The revenue outlook does not consider Integrated Device's Micro Networks business, which it divested in November, and revenue from the Tundra design services business, it said.

Those developing and manufacturing low-carbon technologies have to face the possibility of running out of the necessarily materials to keep going, according to experts. The reason? China's patriotism reducing the amount of REEs available to everyone else. REEs (Rare Earth Elements) are essential to the manufacture of low-carbon technology, due to the unique properties of those particular 17 metals. 97% of the world's supply of REEs comes from China, who are seeking to clamp down on exporting the metals, despite increasing demand. According to sources reporting to the Independent newspaper in the UK, China may go as far as halting export of two metals altogether by next year, and focus on processing only REEs enough to meet domestic demand by 2012. The result? Calls to reopen closed mines across the world, and trade organization authorities closely monitoring developments... and a worry that a necessary technological revolution will be halted by a nationalistic emphasis on supply and demand.

Samsung Electronics Co. said Sunday that it sold 2.6 million units of LCD televisions with light-emitting-diode, or LED, backlight technology in 2009, up from its initial target of around 2 million units.

Samsung, the world's largest liquid-crystal-display television maker by volume, also said it expects its LED-backlit LCD TV sales to grow nearly fourfold to 10 million this year, which suggests the electronics giant will continue to cement its dominant position in the global LCD TV market amid intensifying rivalry in a fast growing segment.

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is building the technology blocks needed to “neutralise” hostile satellites in low earth and polar orbits, according to V.K. Saraswat, DRDO Director-General and Scientific Adviser to the Defence Minister.

These blocks are the kill vehicles that will bring down the adversarial satellites, long-range radars, communication systems, laser-based systems and imaging infra-red seekers that give a complete picture of the satellite.  They will be generated as part of the Ballistic Missile Defence Programme, which will reach “maturity in totality” in 2014, Dr. Saraswat said. He was addressing a press conference here on Sunday.