Subway, which opened more than 1,800 new locations in 2009, has again been named the top franchise in the annual Franchise 500 list. The brand’s owner, Doctor’s Associates Inc., operates more than 32,000 restaurants worldwide; it positions its sandwiches as healthy alternatives to fried fast foods and appeals to budget-conscious consumers with $5 footlong deals, according to Entrepreneur.com. Subway, which has topped the list nine out of the past 10 years, was among 21 sandwich-shop franchises that made this year’s rankings. To view a list of the top 10 franchises, click here.

Governments and utilities are expected to spend a cumulative $200 billion on smart-grid technologies from 2008 through 2015, according to a report released Monday by Pike Research, the Denver Business Journal reported. The Boulder-based research firm found that utilities will find the best return on their investment, and predicted they’ll invest most of their capital budgets in smart-grid infrastructure projects. “Smart grid” is a term used to describe technological innovations to help conserve energy, such as so-called “smart meters,” which allow homeowners to cut down on electricity usage. Pike Research predicted 84 percent of the $200 billion will go toward investing in automating the grid, while just 14 percent will go to smart-meter technologies and 2 percent for electric vehicles.

Dutch financial company ING Groep NV will sell its 50 percent stake in Pacific Antai Life Insurance Co., one of its two Chinese insurance joint ventures, to China Construction Bank Corp., a deal that will help the state-controlled lender gain a footprint in the life-insurance sector, The Wall Street Journal reported. ING’s exit from Pacific Antai, in which China Pacific Insurance (Group) Co. holds the other half, comes after Canadian firm Manulife Financial Corp. pulled out from one of its two joint ventures in China in September. Both moves are a response to regulatory desire for foreign insurers to focus their China businesses in a single venture.

Rock Communications Ltd./Colorfx LLC has been ranked as the 69th largest printing company in North America in the 2009 Printing Impressions 400 list, which appeared in the December issue of Printing Impressions magazine, a trade publication for commercial printers. Rock Communications, based in Newton, acquired Des Moines-based Colorfx in August 2007. The companies operate in five locations in Central and Northeast Iowa and employ 430 people.

More than 600 new stuffed animals will help make a hospital stay a little less intimidating for children at Broadlawns Medical Center in 2010. The employees of NCMIC Insurance Co. in West Des Moines have donated the teddy bears and other stuffed creatures to the hospital’s pediatrics department. The employees have distributed toys to Broadlawns for the past several years. This year, the company matched its employees’ donations.