Are corporations, in the name of profits, now going to help them take a step back?

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The latest buzz is that a Chinese consortium may step up with a higher bid, with the name of chemical giant Sinochem Group being mentioned as taking the lead on such a deal.

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Asimo (the name stands for "Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility") is a descendent of two previous robots: the P2, a prototype that first debuted in 1996, and the P3, which began to walk around Honda labs in 1997.

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But the change of name comes at a sensitive time in Karnataka, where the government recently went a step further and threatened with closure more than 2, 000 private schools that taught in English, not Kannada, the local language.

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But even the government's firmest critics agree that the magnitude of the project and the involvement of a brand name such as Disney's will boost local confidence - a vital first step if people are to start spending again and the economy is to be reflated.

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It represents a next step for the trio of VCs, who have worked together before as angel investors under the name White Bear Yard, which has offices used by some of its start-ups in Clerkenwell, London.

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