AP – Toyota President Akio Toyoda’s visit to China to talk about his company’s quality problems reflects the fast-growing Chinese market’s importance to automakers as they struggle with weak global sales.
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AP – German pharmaceutical company Merck KGaA says it will buy U.S. biotech equipment maker Millipore Corp. for $6 billion in cash in a move to expand its presence in the life science sector.
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PC World – We have 2010 release dates for Mario Galaxy 2 and Metroid: Other M, but could the next Zelda be on its way this year, too? A new Mario, Metroid, and Zelda, all in the same 365-day timespan? Xbox and PS3s sacrificed, Italian plumbers and koopa troopas living together…mass euphoria?
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AP – China’s premier says 2010 will be the most complicated year for the country’s economy, and he promises the government will fight inflation and soaring property prices.
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PC World – If you’ve ever sent a text message that you’ve later regretted sending (Tiger Woods, I’m looking at you), then a new texting application just released for the iPhone could be your new best friend.
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AP – Israel has begun distributing new gas masks to its 7 million citizens to offer protection against a possible chemical attack.
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AP – Shares of clinical billing software maker AthenaHealth Inc. skidded Friday after the company delayed its fourth-quarter report, leading to questions about its management.
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AP – It sounded like a great idea three months ago: Hand homeowners a $6,500 tax credit to find a new place to live, giving a thrust of energy to the housing market’s recovery.
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AP – A Baltimore inmate who bluffed his way out of prison probably wouldn’t have tricked guards if they had eye-scanners such as those being installed at dozens of jails nationwide.
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AP – A new Web sensation called Chatroulette feels like a throwback to the early 1990s, when online chat rooms brimmed with lonely strangers looking for meaningful connections, meaningless sex, or something in between.
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