BEST DEALS ON GAMING LAPTOPS:

• MSI - Modern 15 15.6" Laptop — $749

• ASUS - ROG G531GT 15.6" Gaming Laptop — $999.99

• Dell - G3 15.6" Gaming Laptop — $999.99

My first gaming laptop cost $1,500 more than 10 years ago, and that was considered affordable. It wasn't a top-of-the-line model, but it wasn't a slouch either, sporting one of the better mid-tier graphics cards and a reliable processor/RAM combination.  

But my, how things have changed.

Today, you can go on Amazon and find plenty of laptops for less than $1,000 that would have been at least $1,500 a few years ago, thus opening doors to people who want to try out PC gaming for themselves. (And if it's Prime Day or Black Friday or Cyber Monday, you can expect deal prices to dip even lower.) But sorting through all of the options and deciding which is best presents its own unique challenge. Read more...

The U.K. Green Investment Bank aims to boost the capital it commits to carbon-cutting projects to 700 million pounds ($1.2 billion) this year as it chases deals in offshore wind, waste and energy efficiency.

France’s planned energy law will mobilize about €10 billion (US $13.4 billion) in investment through tax credits and low-interest loans to spur efficiency and renewable power, Environment Minister Segolene Royal said.

Investments in new clean-energy capacity will total $1.61 trillion through 2020 even as the expansion of renewables is expected to slow, the International Energy Agency said.

The U.K. Green Investment Bank is set to tie up the first investments in a $1.6 billion fund by the end of March, part of Britain’s push to cement its dominance in offshore wind power.

The Obama administration is set to pledge $100 million Friday to expand the use of special fuel pumps that allow drivers to blend more ethanol into their gasoline, according to people briefed on the announcement.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which has long championed these so-called blender pumps, may unveil the plan on the same day that the Environmental Protection Agency announces quotas for the use of renewable fuels. With ethanol makers facing a possible cut in their quota below the statutory level of 15 billion gallons, the grant program will let the administration of President Barack Obama demonstrate that it still supports the fuel, which in the U.S. is produced mostly from corn.

“Blender pumps are a huge part of the equation when it comes to the deployment of the second generation biofuels, because investors need a market to invest in,” said Brooke Coleman, the executive director of the Advanced Ethanol Council. “It allows the consumer to choose based on price.”

The grant program would be fast-tracked to states to help defray the cost of installing the pumps, which allow drivers to choose how much ethanol they want to mix with gasoline pumped into their tanks, said the people, who asked not to be identified before the formal announcement.

The USDA, which in 2011 said it wanted to get 10,000 blender pumps installed, has scheduled an announcement Friday on biofuels infrastructure. USDA spokesman Cullen Schwarz said he couldn’t comment on the announcement.

Quotas Overdue

The EPA is scheduled to issue renewable fuel quotas for 2014, 2015 and 2016 before June 1, and the two people said that announcement will also come Friday. The EPA abandoned its proposal for quotas last year, after ethanol makers bristled at the attempt to cut quotas based on the argument that more than 10 percent ethanol couldn’t be absorbed by the domestic market.

Separately, production of cellulosic ethanol -- a fuel made from wood, grass and other plant material -- is far below the 3 billion gallons set in the legislation for this year. Taken together EPA will have to propose some cuts, analysts say.

“The statutory volume targets of the RFS are now totally implausible, so something has to give,” Jeremy Martin, a senior scientist the Union of Concerned Scientists, wrote in a report released Thursday. “Whatever they do will likely be challenged in court, so the final answer to these questions may take some time to shake out.”

--With assistance from Alan Bjerga in Washington.

Scientists and economists including BP Plc’s former chief executive officer, John Browne, are inviting governments to join a $150 billion program that aims to make clean energy cheaper than coal.

Long-frustrated wind and solar developers in Australia can now get to work on more than A$14 billion ($11 billion) in projects after a new renewable energy target passed parliament.

This year's tourism balance of payments is estimated to surpass US$15 billion. This is up more than 40 percent of $10.8 billion recorded in 2007 in the wake of the global financial crisis. According to the Bank of Korea, the tourism balance of payments in the month of June this year was a deficit of $1.39 billion. The cumulative deficit for the first six months of the year has been $7.74 billion, the second all-time highest after the second half of 2007. Last year, the tourism spending by K...

They have left behind royal life as they knew it, swapping Britain for the sunnier climes of Los Angeles. But former Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are not quite slumming it, as they join the Hollywood elite in a reported $18m (€16.4m) Beverly Hills mansion owned by a...

They have left behind royal life as they knew it, swapping Britain for the sunnier climes of Los Angeles. But former Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are not quite slumming it, as they join the Hollywood elite in a reported $18m (€16.4m) Beverly Hills mansion owned by a...

The next match involving Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson involves a $10 million donation for COVID-19 relief efforts, along with plenty of bragging rights in ...

[The Herald] Registrar-General Clement Masango yesterday denied any wrongdoing during his bail application before Harare regional magistrate Mrs Bianca Makwande.

Two police officers have been arrested for possessing more than HK$12 million (US$1.9 million) worth of drugs, which the force believes were stolen from the record haul of crystal meth seized last week.One of the two policemen detained, a 41-year-old station sergeant, who is attached to the Kowloon West anti-triad squad, was caught with 2kg of Ice in the Royal Garden Hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui East on Thursday, police said, just days after being part of a team that seized 296kg of the drug in a…

Investors and lawmakers in Hong Kong are urging regulators to seek compensation for people who lose money when listed companies collapse shortly after their initial public offerings.Under the current system, when banks sponsoring IPOs are found to have fallen short in their due diligence duties, the proceeds of any fine imposed by the watchdog goes to the government, not investors. Those fines amount to almost HK$1 billion (US$130 million) over the last 20 years, according to calculations by…

Hong Kong lawmakers on Friday rejected a proposal by four international schools seeking a total of HK$1.4 billion (US$180 million) in interest-free loans for campus development as they face financial pressure during the coronavirus pandemic.This came as Harrow International School Hong Kong announced this week it would offer a 20 per cent reduction of the summer term tuition fees to parents, following an earlier petition demanding a fee cut of up to 25 per cent.The proposal, which was tabled by…

Hong Kong’s Canto-pop “dancing king” Aaron Kwok Fu-shing’s online charity concert on Saturday afternoon to help the city’s struggling dancers attracted about 2 million viewers and raised more than HK$1 million, amid local signs of an easing coronavirus threat.Kwok’s onstage moves are known to be inspired by Michael Jackson. The one-hour performance by the singer-dancer-actor, 54, flanked by about 100 dancers, was live-streamed on multiple channels on social media from 5pm to 6pm.He performed on…

Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani are taking the next step in their relationship

The Government of Palau will draw down on a $15 million policy-based loan from ADB's Disaster Resilience Program to help finance the country’s response to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

ADB today approved $1.5 billion in financing to support the Government of Indonesia’s efforts to alleviate the impact of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic on public health, livelihoods, and the economy.

ADB has approved a $1.5 billion loan to help the Philippine government fund its novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) response program and strengthen the country’s health care system in its fight against the pandemic.

ADB has approved a $177 million loan to India to upgrade 450 kilometers (km) of state highways and major district roads in Maharashtra State.

ADB today approved a $1.5 billion loan to the Government of India to help fund its response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including support for immediate priorities such as disease containment and prevention, as well as social...

ADB today approved a $100 million loan to support the Government of Bangladesh in its efforts to address the immediate public health requirements of combatting the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

Alastair Hughes, CEO (Asia Pacific) of Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL), who was in Bangalore to hold a board meeting of the Asia Pacific region comprising China, Japan, Australia, South East Asia and India, spoke to BusinessLine to share the real estate market sentiment and key issues on corporate leasing. How is the realty market in India as compared to other countries in Asia Pacific ? India has seen a dramatic recovery. The hangover did not last very long as it had in 2010-2011. The market is very dynamic here right now. While Asia-Pacific began to recover in 2012-2013, India went through a lull, largely due to lack of business confidence, […]

U.S.-based stock funds posted $10.8 billion in outflows in the week ended ON Wednesday, according to Lipper.

The unique metal asteroid Psyche may be a space miner's fantasy – but there are better reasons to want to visit it, says mission leader Lindy Elkins-Tanton

A 1966 manuscript, on which a young Bob Dylan typed and wrote lyrics for a track on his "Blonde on Blonde" album and another song he later abandoned, went on sale at Sotheby's auction house from Tuesday.

The 25 biggest hedge fund earners took home a combined $13 billion last year, despite mediocre returns.

Title: $1,000 Personal Genome Coming: Are We Ready?
Category: Health News
Created: 4/30/2010 11:39:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 4/30/2010 11:39:20 AM

Thermo Fisher Scientific announced plans in March to acquire Qiagen in a $11.5 billion deal that could bring morediagnostic offeringsand sample-preparation technologies to one of the world's leading manufacturers of scientific instruments, research services, and laboratory consumables.

Authorities of the Northern province Lang Son has requested VND3.16 trillion ($136 million) from the government to build the Chi Lang-Huu Nghi Expressway.

Flying car hopefuls were meant to take off at a competition on a NASA airbase, but no team claimed the prize after a string of crashes and no-shows

A space flight start-up called Astra is about to attempt to launch two small rockets into orbit over a few weeks to win $12 million from the US military

Labor’s NBN policy could require a further $10 billion in taxpayer funding, says a telecommunications analyst.

President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign launched a massive, multi-million dollar ad blitz against presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden on Thursday, its biggest onslaught against Biden since the coronavirus pandemic hit the United States.