Gold fever, Box-office doldrums

Good day for: Selling gold, as the price of the precious metal surged above $1,000 an ounce on Tuesday -- an 18-month high. The jump came as a decline in the value of the dollar boosted investor interest in gold, as well as silver and copper. (Marketwatch)

Bad day for: Escapism, as summer movie attendance fell by 2.4 percent compared to 2008 and by 6 percent compared to 2007. Box-office revenue inched up by 1.3 percent over last year, thanks to ticket price inflation and premiums on 3-D theaters. But studio executives said that wasn't bad news. "To be marginally down on attendance and up on box-office at a time when so many other industries are struggling is a great comment on our business," said Adam Fogelson, president of marketing and distribution at Universal Pictures. (Los Angeles Times)

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