Plus, many coal utilities are actively switching to natural gas, so e-vehicles are essentially getting cleaner.

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The XO comes with a word processor, PDF viewer, Firefox web browser, media player, drawing tools plus the usual set of utilities.

ECONOMIST: The $100 laptop is fast becoming a reality

That sort of thinking prompted him to peek outside the world of feeders and make a bid for Pennsylvania Crusher, a Broomall, Pennsylvania maker of coal-crunching machines sold to big utilities, with 80%-plus of that market.

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This patchwork, plus changing environmental regulation, explains why so many utilities have avoided building new plants for years.

ECONOMIST: Charge ahead

For Chad Brown, they equal six months in a New York City apartment, plus a security deposit with a little left over for utilities.

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For the soon-to-merge German utilities Viag and Veba, both of which trade at an enterprise value (market cap plus debt) of less than six times operating income, government threats to shut down nuclear plants are enough to scare away investors--both financial and strategic--no matter how cheap the stocks.

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