Horror possesses No. 1 movie spot
LOS ANGELES - A late-summer horror tale has taken possession of the weekend box office.
"The Possession" debuted as the No. 1 movie with $21.3 million over the four-day Labor Day weekend. The fright flick stars Kyra Sedgwick and Jeffrey Dean Morgan as parents of a girl possessed by a demon.
Opening in second-place with $13 million was the bootlegging drama "Lawless," with Shia LaBeouf and Guy Pearce in a story of moonshiners pursued by a corrupt lawman during Prohibition.
Studio executives started the season with projections of record business, but revenues dropped 3 percent compared to summer 2011, while attendance was at its lowest in at least 20 years.
Unemployed in France: 3 million
PARIS - The number of French unemployed has broken through the 3-million barrier for the first time since 1999, the country's leaders say.
The latest total adds pressure on President Francois Hollande, whose administration is under attack for not doing enough to fix the economy. France's unemployment rate is currently 10 percent.
Breaking the 3 million mark carries more symbolic importance than economic but it was covered extensively in the French media over the weekend. The Ministry of Employment says the 3-million threshold was crossed in 1996 and again in 1999.
Macau casino revenue up 5.5%
HONG KONG - Gambling revenue growth in Macau, the world's most lucrative casino market, picked up moderately last month after hitting a three-year low, data released Monday showed, as high-rolling gamblers raised their bets at tables in the semiautonomous Chinese city.
Revenue rose 5.5 percent to $3.3 billion in August from the same month last year, according to data posted on the Macau gambling authority's website.
Macau's casino revenues have surged at double-digit rates in recent years thanks to big-spending Chinese gamblers. Revenue zoomed up 42 percent last year to $33.5 billion, more than five times the amount earned on the Las Vegas Strip. But growth has cooled this year as China's economy has slowed.
Teachers could strike in Chicago
CHICAGO - Most Chicago students return to school today, but they could find themselves out of the classroom again in less than a week.
The Chicago Teachers Union and Chicago Public Schools are in a standoff over contract talks, and union President Karen Lewis says more than 26,000 teachers and support staff in the nation's third-largest school district are prepared to strike Monday.
Canadian drug co. to buy Medicis
TORONTO - Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. has agreed to buy dermatology products maker Medicis Pharmaceutical Corp. for about $2.6 billion in cash in a deal to strengthen its position in skin treatments and care.
Montreal-based Valeant, Canada's largest publicly-traded pharmaceuticals company, said Monday that it has agreed to pay $44 per share for Medicis, a 39 percent premium over Friday's closing price of $31.87 for the Scottsdale, Ariz., target company.
The boards of both companies have approved the deal. It needs approval by Medicis shareholders and regulatory clearance. The companies hope to complete the deal in early 2013.
Valeant Chairman and CEO J. Michael Pearson said the deal would be "a significant next step" toward making his company the leader in dermatology by expanding its products to treat acne as well as
injectable aesthetic products often used to smooth out wrinkles and make people look younger.