Intel has cut prices on some of its microprocessors by as much as 53 percent as the company's investments in manufacturing over the past two years are starting to pay off. Intel (INTC) regularly cuts prices throughout the year as its production costs drop and demand shifts. But the company said this round of price cuts is a direct result of the billions of dollars it has spent on upgrading chip factories with machines that make chips from larger wafers and with shrinking line widths and transistors on its chips. The price cuts will likely mean lower prices for personal computers and laptops and could increase pressure on Intel's long-time rival Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), analysts said. - - - Weighing alternatives: Bankrupt telecommunications company Global Crossing, which failed to reach a sale agreement with its initial suitors, said it will develop its own restructuring plan as an alternative to bids it expects from independent investors next month.