By Chelsea Emery

NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) – Galvanized by the September 11 attacks on the United States, Michael Levy joined the Peace Corps and found himself on a plane for central China.

His misconceptions about Chinese people, and his vegetarianism, fell by the wayside as he labored to learn the local dialect and stay open-minded when asked to try unusual foods such as millipedes.

By Chelsea Emery

NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) – It was really about the bullies. Joseph Ahearn began ballet lessons in the 1940s not to better his basketball game or impress girls but to overcome the bullies who tormented him.

The young Ahearn, who became the celebrated dancer Jacques d’Amboise, dreamed of bounding over the heads of his childhood tormentors in the Washington Heights section of New York.

By Chelsea Emery

NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) – After cooking for United Nations diplomats, menu planning for a New York restaurant is a cakewalk, said the chefs of Seasonal Restaurant and Weinbar, the Michelin-star Austrian eatery in Manhattan.

New Yorkers bring plenty of food sensitivities to the table, but their demands pale when compared to those of international heads of state, Wolfgang Ban and his partner Eduard Frauneder told Reuters.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Casino bankruptcies are likely in the next few years as too many U.S. locations fight for too few gamblers, a top restructuring investment banker said on Thursday.

“The gaming industry in general is over-casinoed,” said Kenneth Buckfire, chief executive and co-founder of investment adviser Miller Buckfire. “You’ll see consolidation and shakeout across the country.”

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Some wind and solar energy companies could be headed for collapse as government funding priorities change, a UBS banker told the Reuters Restructuring Summit on Wednesday.

“Green” technology companies have benefited from government support such as tax revenue or grants, but many could face restructuring or bankruptcy once that support goes away, said Steven Smith, managing director and global head of restructuring for UBS Securities LLC.

NEW YORK, Sept 28 (Reuters) – Visteon Corp VSTNQ.PK on
Tuesday said it expects to emerge from bankruptcy protection in
early October, after the auto parts maker settled nearly all
its disputes with former owner Ford Motor Co (F.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz).

The settlement assures that Ford will generate about $600
million in annual sales for Visteon, according to documents
filed late last week in the U.S. bankruptcy court in
Wilmington, Delaware.

NEW YORK, Sept 28 (Reuters) – Bankrupt auto parts maker
Visteon Corp VSTNQ.PK is seeking court approval for a deal it
said it reached with Ford Motor Co (F.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) which would resolve
almost all disputes and assure about $600 million in Visteon
sales to its former parent, according to court documents.

The so-called global settlement cleans the slate between
between the two companies, allowing Visteon to emerge from
bankruptcy with fewer obligations to one of its largest
customers.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Bankrupt investment firm Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc is “optimistic” it will have its plan of reorganization confirmed by the end of the first quarter, according to a securities filing on Wednesday.

The company has worked to slash claims on the estate and said its differences with creditors are “narrowing.”

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Blockbuster Inc is preparing to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy within the next few days, a source familiar with the video rental chain’s plans said on Wednesday.

The Dallas-based retailer has more than $900 million of debt and has struggled to adapt as consumers download movies from their computers rather than go to free-standing rental stores.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc (LEHMQ.PK: Quote, Profile, Research) has sued Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM.TO: Quote, Profile, Research) and dozens of other defendants to recover more than $3 billion (1.9 billion pounds) it said it was deprived of as a result of its record bankruptcy two years ago.

The lawsuits contend that the defendants were allowed unfairly to have their claims vault ahead of Lehman’s own.