Business

The surprise hit Lost in Thailand, a road comedy that cost less than $5 million to make, has become China's highest-grossing domestic film.

World News

Move Over James Bond, China Has An Unlikely Box-Office Champ

9:32am February 08, 2013

by Frank Langfitt

Hollywood blockbusters usually do well in China. But last year, Lost in Thailand, a scrappy, slapstick comedy that cost less than $5 million to make, raked in $200 million in just seven weeks. It's now the highest-grossing Chinese film ever. It begins a limited run in the U.S. on Friday.

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The Garment District's factories and wholesale and retail shops, including Spandex World on West 38th Street, employ about 7,100 people.

New York's Grimy Garment District Hatches Designers' Dreams

8:07pm February 07, 2013

by Padmananda Rama

As Fashion Week opens in New York on Thursday, all eyes will be on the Lincoln Center catwalk. But the real business of fashion will be happening a short distance away in the city's Garment District, the resource-rich laboratory that has launched the careers of countless designers.

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Pay up, or the bird gets it. (A hoatzin perches on a branch in Yasuni National Park.)

'Give Me The Money Or I'll Shoot The Trees'

3:07pm February 07, 2013

by David Kestenbaum

A pristine rainforest in Ecuador sits on top of the equivalent of millions of barrels of oil. Ecuador has offered a deal to the rich countries of the world: Pay us billions of dollars, and we'll leave the rainforest untouched.

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Employees of Hellenic Postbank protest during a strike against the bank's privatization in Athens, in December.

Privatization Of Greek Assets Runs Behind Schedule

3:07pm February 07, 2013

by Sylvia Poggioli

The sweeping fire sale is a requirement for multibillion-euro bailouts. And the Chinese, Russian and Arab companies lining up to take advantage of the steep discounts are making Greeks and other Europeans nervous.

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Couple Buys Disgraced Financier's Iowa Estate

3:07pm February 07, 2013

The 20-acre estate outside Cedar Falls, Iowa, was sold for a winning bid of about $600,000. The property used to be owned by Russell Wasendorf, who was recently sentenced to 50 years in jail for embezzling hundreds of millions of dollars from investors.

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1 Boeing 787 Permitted To Fly From Fort Worth To Seattle

3:07pm February 07, 2013

Regulators grounded 50 Dreamliners worldwide after batteries overheated on two separate flights last month. Only crew will be on board for Thursday's flight to move one 787 from a Boeing plant in Fort Worth to a plant near Seattle. Engineers will then study the plane and its batteries and look at ways to reduce fire risk.

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Harlan County Lake, the Republican River's main reservoir in Nebraska, dropped 10 feet during the summer drought and hasn't recovered.

As Drought Intensifies, 2 States Dig In Over Water War

7:28pm February 06, 2013

by Grant Gerlock

The Republican River is crucial to the agricultural economy of several states in the West and Great Plains. But as a drought drags on, Kansas says Nebraska farmers have been taking more than their fair share of the river — and have asked the Supreme Court to weigh in.

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This AR-15 rifle's lower receiver (in soft green color) was produced with a 3-D printer. The 3-D printing industry has criticized the use of the technology for gun part making.

National

Using 3-D Printers To Make Gun Parts Raises Alarms

2:48pm February 06, 2013

by Eric Molinsky

Owners of 3-D printers can create all sorts of imaginative items — cups, tools, jewelry. All they need is a design and the printer. But now some gun parts are being produced with this technology, alarming some in the burgeoning 3-D printing industry.

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Bonet and his sister, Didra, are shown here in Puerto Rico in this undated family photo.

Puerto Rico's Battered Economy: The Greece Of The Caribbean?

10:51am February 06, 2013

by David Greene

With the highest unemployment rate in the U.S. and a mountain of debt, the island is facing a declining population. But those who stay insist they're there for the long haul.

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An image depicts the SatoshiDice website, which exclusively uses Bitcoin, not dollars, for gambling.

Economy

Is Online Gambling Legal If Bitcoins, Not Dollars, Are At Stake?

10:51am February 06, 2013

by Cyrus Farivar

With no government ties, Bitcoin is used to buy everything from blogging services to Brooklyn-made cupcakes. Theoretically, millions of dollars are being kept in the digital currency. And it's increasingly being used by specialized websites to offer online gambling. But is Bitcoin gambling legal?

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