Word: britain
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...season that has Brits collectively behaving like Scrooges, unmoved by the government's newly unveiled 20 billion pound fiscal stimulus package and a cut in value-added tax. And unless retailers persuade consumers that redemption - for individuals, for businesses and for the wider economy - lies in more generous spending, Britain's downturn threatens to be steep indeed. According to the British Retail Consortium, retail sales account for a fifth of the nation's economy, with the sector responsible for some 8% of GDP and employing 11% of Britain's total workforce...
...some very fat years. In June, government figures showed that free-spending British families had racked up debts equivalent to 173% of their incomes, by far the highest ratio of debt to income among G7 nations. That's one reason why the IMF has predicted a sharper contraction in Britain than in other advanced economies...
...lowly prices. And the pound's weakness may yet boost tourism among foreign visitors hoping to snap up discounted goods at beneficial exchange rates. "The pound has declined 10% against the Euro and 28% against dollar compared to last year," says Elliott Frisby of the tourist authority Visit Britain. "There's never been a better time to holiday in this country...
...SmartWater's first foray outside Britain, police in Tallahassee, Florida conducted an 11-month field trial that resulted in a 33% drop in thefts. Project coordinator Greg Frost of the Tallahassee police was guardedly impressed, but wonders if other social factors were at work. "We were more actively engaged with the local crime-watch associations, for example," he says. "Maybe the neighbors were more effective at looking out for each other...
...ethical advisory bodies that devised a liberal alternative to "zero-tolerance" drug policies practiced elsewhere, focusing on prevention, harm reduction, and therapy. Switzerland's stance of giving the most severely dependent addicts not only heroin, but also counseling and medical treatment, has since spawned similar programs in Great Britain and the Netherlands. A handful of other countries are considering implementing this strategy as well...