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CHINESE ELECTRIC CAR

Chinese firm BYD says that its new E6 electric car due out before the end of the year will do 250 miles (400km) on a single charge.
This is a very big number. The Tesla electric sports car does almost as much, but has little room for anything else in the car but the battery.
The E6 is roomy with space for five passengers and a good-sized boot. The battery tucks under the back seat.
It needs 7-8 hours with a domestic plug to charge the car but BYD - it stands for Build Your Dreams - says a specially developed fast charging point with a lead the diameter of a fire hose will fill up the car in just one hour. You can get half a charge in only 10 minutes.
If these claims are accurate and if BYD can persuade either the Chinese government or a Chinese city to install a network of the fast chargers, then this large hatchback could be the vehicle that makes the breakthrough for electric cars.

VW TO BUY 50% OF PORSCHE
Europe's largest carmaker, Volkswagen, has said it is to buy 49.9% of sports car maker Porsche by the end of 2009 for about 3.9bn euros (£3.54bn;$5.8bn).
In August VW and Porsche agreed the details by which VW will merge with its German compatriot by 2011.
VW had initially been set to buy a 42% stake in Porsche by the end of this year for 3.3bn euros.
The deal will end months of acrimony between the two firms, and would end Porsche's failed efforts to buy VW.

APPLE PROFITS UP
Apple has shrugged off the recession with profits surging on demand for its iPhones, laptops and desktop computers.
The technology giant made a net profit of $1.67bn (£1bn) in the three months to 26 September, up 47% on a year earlier. Sales rose 25% to $9.87bn.
Computer sales grew 17%, and iPhone sales climbed 7%, though there was an 8% drop in the number of iPods sold.
The results come ahead of rival Microsoft launching its new Windows 7 operating system later this week.
Shares in California-based Apple closed at $189.86 on the Nasdaq index, but rose to above $200 in extended trading on the results, which were well ahead of what analysts had forecast.

Source: BBC News