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. £2,000 pledge for eco-cars in green economy drive . Brown aims at making industry a world leaderA £2,000 government grant will be provided to encourage motorists to buy electric cars as part of a fresh initiative to stimulate the green economy, ministers will announce within weeks.As Gordon Brown pledged yesterday to make Britain a 'world leader' in the production of electric and hybrid cars, government sources talked of steps to be taken when the special subsidy is announced in the run-up to the budget on 22 April.The subsidy will have two aims: to help the environment, by encouraging use of the most fuel efficient cars, and to kickstart the market in electric cars in Britain.One government source said: 'We want to encourage people to buy these cars. They are good for the environment - Britain is also a major centre of production.'The subsidy will be similar to grants available for people who install solar thermal and photovoltaic energy equipment in their homes.Minister

Playing for keeps Sony's new virtual experience for children, Free Realms, claims to be without charge, but is it cashing in on the kids?This spring sees Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) enter the tween and teen market with the virtual world Free Realms. The brainchild of the company's president, John Smedley, it's free-to-play via a streaming browser offering a wide variety of mini-game experiences, which in SOE's words pay homage to popular games such as Bejeweled and Mario Kart.Although said to appeal to anyone from eight to 80, the core target audience is 10- to 14-year-olds. It replaces the classic massively multiplayer online game (MMO) class system with 'jobs', each related to themes within the mini-games. As a ninja, compete in combat games, or don your apron and rise to Cooking Mama-style challenges. The key is that gamers can become who they want whenever they want, under the umbrella of one avatar.SOE says Free Realms is unique, yet it clearly shares many features with its fr

Biotech firm Genentech Inc, recently acquired by Roche Holdings AG for $47 billion, said Wednesday that it has pulled its psoriasis drug Raptiva from the U.S. market because of its association with rare, but often fatal brain infection.

The 909 East Market building has become fully leased with the addition of a new tenant, Derby City Crossfit.

Crash continues to ravage the real estate market in the West

HONG KONG (AP) -- Asian stock markets resumed their upward march Thursday, with Tokyo's index surging nearly 4 percent, as investors cheered Japan's $150 billion stimulus proposal and signs recession was starting to ease in the world's second-largest economy....

Washington » Federal regulators opened a public debate Wednesday over ways to restrict trades that bet against a stock, as investors and lawmakers clamor for brakes on moves they say worsened the market's downturn.

In their recently published Metal Matters, ScotiaMocatta analysts advised PGMs have outperformed gold, investor interest remains strong, and some restocking is occurring. Silver seen in structural surplus and worries on platinum bear market rally.

Samsung has launched its latest B5702 dual-SIM phone, which will be coming to several markets, including Russia, in May 2009, and will have the following features:Dual-SIM support;2.4' QVGA 320 x 240 LCD display;2 LED lights on its face, personalization, dedicated hot keys for multitasking;3Mpix camera;FM radio with RDS ... [These are short news! Click for details]

For now, concentrate on high quality companies with stable and consistent cash flow. Also, focus on stocks with high dividend yields. We like Estee Lauder, Sara Lee and Dean Foods.