Is the 3D Craze Finally Over?

North American 3D film profits dropped by 18 percent last year compared to 2010’s figures. The 3D-ready US and Canadian markets struggle to cope with consumer fatigue: “Consumers criticize uneven content quality and overpriced tickets,” according to PwC. On a global scale, 3D is expanding as theaters renew their infrastructure to accommodate digital technology — especially […]

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Deadly Clashes on South Sudan’s Path to Freedom

Days after Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir accepted the referendum results granting southern Sudan its independence, more than 100 people have died in clashes between the south’s army and a renegade general. The fighting is the latest in a wave of violence that has all but extinguished the party atmosphere in the south, while raising serious questions over the future of the world’s newest nation

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Half of U.S. pays no federal income tax

Half of U.S. pays no federal income tax Credits for low- and middle-income families exempt many Tax Day is a dreaded deadline for millions, but for nearly half of U.S. households it’s simply somebody else’s problem. About 47 percent will pay no federal income taxes at all for 2009. Either their incomes were too low, […]

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Top China banker warns on asset bubbles

China needs an “urgent” tightening of monetary policy to prevent the huge stimulus measures introduced this year from inflating stock and property bubbles, one of the country’s leading bankers has warned. Qin Xiao — chairman of China Merchants Bank, the country’s sixth-biggest — says in Thursday’s Financial Times that the government should not be afraid of a “moderate slowdown” in the economy.

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