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It is a maxim that the market likes certainty. So Monday’s news on how ST-Ericsson will be dissolved was, in principle, welcome. This 50:50 mobile chip joint venture between Ericsson and STMicroelectronics has been consistently loss-making since it was formed in 2009, clocking up an operating deficit of $800-million (U.S.) on sales of $1.4-billion in 2012.