MID-DAY UPDATE: Academy Awards, Groupon, Walmart, and gas prices

The Brits were the big winners at the 83rd Annual Academy Awards held last night at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood. British film “The King’s Speech” took home three Academy Awards, including “Best Picture” The film was paid for in part by the government’s film funding organization, the U.K. Film Council. But because of budget cuts, that agency is on the chopping block. Also, check out our photo gallery to see all of this year’s winners.

Daily deal site Groupon has been interested in expanding into China for months, and finally, the company has opened its Chinese affiliate, Gaopeng.com. The site will initially cover Beijing and Shanghai. Meanwhile, Walmart is abandoning its plans to expand into Russia. As Peter Van Dyk reports, many U.S. companies find it hard to open stores in Russia.

And when gas hits $4 a gallon, the effect is psychological as well as financial.