A smile confuses an approaching frown. But how do you like the idea of showing your smile while wearing a mask?

The Chinese central government’s policy of clamping down on local government subsidies in early December is expected to affect the LED industry subsidies too. LED industry insiders project the new policy will restore order to the overtly competitive Chinese LED market by edging out uncompetitive LED chip manufacturers. LEDinside has also released a series of reports this week that recap some of the major events and trends in the LED industry in 2014. For more please see below:

In recent years “labor shortages” and “layoffs” have become common terms in the Chinese LED manufacturing industry. In Guangdong Province in Southern China, short term labor shortages have increased in 2014 to reach between 800,000 to 1 million workers, according to a report by Chinese-language LEDtimes. Chinese electronic manufacturing conglomerates Haier Electronics, Gree Electric and Foxconn’s layoffs also attracted market attention.

Everlight plans to invest NT $30 billion (US $944.31 million) on production expansion in the next five years in Taiwan to compete in the international market, according to a news report from UDN.

Honglitronic announced on Christmas the company’s LED lighting subsidiary, Ledia Lighting’s, patent application was authorized by China’s State Intellectual Property Office, according to a report by Securities Times.

Many people don't know that there’s more to scientist Isaac Newton than a certain apple falling from a tree. Holding a prism of glass in the path of sunlight, he showed that white light is actually made up of seven different colors – red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. Color comes from light – in fact, color is light.

Bahri & Mazroei Trading Company (BMTC), part of the Bahri & Mazroei Group, a leading provider of solutions for buildings and infrastructure development projects in the Gulf, has launched its range of LED light fixtures from Arnsberg-based global lighting solutions manufacturer Trilux in the UAE.

Massachusetts plans to upgrade one-third of its streetlight around the state to LED lights, according to an AP report.

San Jose, the third largest city in California, U.S. has started installing new LED streetlights throughout December, according to a report by San Jose Mercury News.

The Chinese central government recently issued a statement requesting local governments to stop issuing LED chip and wafer subsidies or offer favorable tax conditions.

More and more Chinese lighting companies are joining the long Initial Public Offering (IPO) approval wait list despite Chinese government’s slow progress of the applications.

Calgary, located in Alberta, Canada plans to launch the second phase of its LED streetlight retrofit project to replace high pressure sodium lights, according to a report by CBCnews.

Camden County located in New Jersey, U.S. plans to save up on energy costs by converting the county’s streetlights to LEDs, according to a report by Courier-Post.

Introducing névo, the French designed timepiece that connects the elegance of the past with the power of the future in a sleek modern watch with activity tracking, phone notifications, and unique LED goal progression indicators. névo combines style and practicality resulting in a beautifully useful tool for health conscience, active people. 

San’an Opto is expected to fully benefit from the growing LED market value, according to a report from China Finance Media.

SemiLEDs Corporation (NASDAQ: LEDS), “SemiLEDs” or the “Company,” a developer and manufacturer of LED chips and LED components, today announced it has entered into a definitive common stock purchase agreement with Mr. XiaoQing Han, Chairman and CEO of Beijing XiaoQing Environmental Protection Group. Under the terms of this agreement, Mr. Han will acquire a 15% interest in SemiLEDs common stock at a purchase price of $1.00 per share for a total consideration of $5.0 million and will join the SemiLEDs Board of Directors upon closing of the transaction.

The Discover LED Lighting survey from North American lighting leader OSRAM SYLVANIA finds nearly one third of American households surveyed have lighting issues in key areas of the home. Brightness, color and usage time are major lighting concerns in some rooms, and these issues could be easily fixed by upgrading lighting to LEDs. In fact, 90 percent of Americans surveyed that use LED lighting in their homes report high levels of satisfaction.

LEDs are known for the long lifespan of lasting nearly 20 years compared to traditional incandescent bulbs, but one long living incandescent bulb has fought against the rule of physics and kept lighting experts baffled.

Hartlepool Borough Council reported saving over £1.2 million (US $1.86 million) in a project to upgrade 13,644 sodium-vapor streetlights into energy-saving LED streetlights, according to a news from local British media Hartlepool Mail.

Following the MiPower’s successful Kickstarter campaign for PLAYBULB candle & PLAYBULB color, the company has launched another crowd funding campaign for its PLAYBULB rainbow.

San’an Opto has decided to allocate a total of RMB 500 million ($80.03 million) to three subsidiaries including Anhui San’an Opto, Tianjin San’an Opto, and Xiamen San’an Opto for production expansion, according to a latest company announcement.

The Chinese central government’s policy to terminate LED industry subsidies will be extended to local governments, according to a latest Chinese-language UDN report.

LONDON: Madrid leads the LED revolution in Europe, upgrading the totality of its street lighting in the largest project in the world of this kind. The new technology will save almost half of the energy used to light the streets of the Spanish capital.

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) in U.S. announced recently plans of investing $1.8 million to upgrade Pennslvania’s 38 municipalities and 3 counties traffic lights under the “Green Light-Go” project, according to a WPMT Fox 43 report.

​The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) today praised New York Governor Cuomo for signing into law the Dark Skies bill, which establishes requirements for outdoor lighting applications installed by state agencies. Specifically, the bill requires the use of properly shielded light fixtures to prevent unnecessary up- and side-lighting, thereby reducing sky glow. The bill also limits lighting to only recommended levels for particular applications.     

This week Callaway Gardens received an email from USA Today stating, “Fantasy In Lights - Callaway Gardens is one of the winners of the Best Public Lights Display category in 10Best Readers' Choice travel award contest sponsored by USA TODAY.”

Spurred by government policies and market demands, China’s LED package and module manufacturers have shown exponential growth in the past few years, according to a CNA report.

NanoMarkets believes that opportunities for commercial use of quantum dots (QDs) have changed dramatically in the past year, and this, our most recent report on QDs, identifies where the money will be made as the a result of these new trends and developments.

The India’s Union Ministry of Power launches a pilot project to upgrade traditional streetlights into energy-saving LED streetlights as part of the effort to turn New Delhi into a smart city, according to a report of Indian media Niti Central.

With the technology shift to LEDs in full flow, the Zumtobel Group is rigorously defending its intellectual property rights. Companies that have infringed the rights of the Group or its subsidiaries are requested to respect these rights and purchase the appropriate licences. In the event that infringements of its patents and other intellectual property rights persist, the Group reserves the right to take legal action. In a recent example, Tridonic Jennersdorf GmbH filed a lawsuit at Mannheim District Court in Germany against AOC International (Europe) B.V. and AOC International (Europe) GmbH.