On Monday, May 24 Intel (INTC) introduced its new low-voltage Core processors for the ultrathin-laptop segment.

This current laptop segment comprises of the less-than-one-inch-thick Apple MacBook Air and Dell Adamo, which use Intel processors and draw relatively little power compared with standard mobile-processors. However, these devices are pricey, luxury notebooks. Intel is targeting the general consumer-laptop market with its newest processors.

“It will fit the consumer-system price point; very affordable systems,” Mooly Eden, vice president and general manager of the PC Client Group at Intel said. He did not specify prices, but the consumer laptop segment typically ranges from about $500 to $1,000 for systems with screen sizes between 13 inches and 15 inches diagonally.

According to Eden, Asus (NASDAQ:ASUS), Gateway, and Acer (2353:TW) already have systems ready for launch. He predicted that eventually all major PC makers will bring out laptops based on these processors. The Acer Aspire 1830, Gateway EC39, Asus UL80, Lenovo U160, and MSI X350 are upcoming systems that will be available from some vendors starting June 2010.

The new processors include the Core i3-330UM (1.2GHz), Core i5-540UM (1.2GHz), Core i7-660UM (1.33GHz), and Pentium U5400 (1.2GHz). One of the distinguishing features of these processors is the chip’s package size, which is 32-percent smaller than standard-processor packages.

These new processors expand an existing line of ultra-low-power processors. Intel has been shipping the Core 2 Duo SU9400 since the third quarter of 2008 and the Core I7-620UM since the first quarter of this year.

Charles River Laboratories International (CRL) made headlines this week following a billion-dollar deal to snap up China’s WuXi PharmaTech Inc. (WX) that will immediately expand its presence in China and revolutionize the contract-research landscape.

On April 26, Charles River agreed to acquire WuXi PharmaTech for $1.6 billion in cash and stock. The transaction, which is expected to close by the fourth quarter of 2010, is estimated to be neutral to slightly accretive to Charles River’s 2011 non-GAAP per share earnings. Charles River intends to finance the cash portion of the transaction through balance-sheet cash on hand and one or more sources of debt financing. Charles River has received a financing commitment for a $1.25 billion credit facility from J.P. Morgan Chase and Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Last year, Charles River had generated $1.2 billion in sales, down from $1.3 billion in 2008, while WuXi had sales of $270 million, up from $253.5 million in 2008.

Due to decreased spending by its customers, Charles River’s preclinical services division has been facing a tough time. However, with strong preclinical bookings for the first quarter of 2010 and early positive indicators for the second quarter, Charles River anticipates improvement in demand for its broad portfolio of essential products and services in 2010, and as the year progresses, sales and earnings growth.