Word: downturns
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...according to Seven Towns Limited, the British firm that licenses all of Rubik's creations. When New York City toy retailer FAO Schwarz reintroduced the Cube 18 months ago it became one of the store's Top 20 selling toys within weeks; sales have stayed steady despite the economic downturn. In Britain, Cube sales are up 300% over the past two years. "People have gone back to safe brands that have been on the market for a while and that they have confidence in," says Gary Grant, chairman of Britain's Toy Retailers Association, noting that playtime staples such...
...sentimental attachment won't fix the problems the country faces today. A feeble pound should eventually give Britain's depressed exporters a boost, but that might not happen until 2010. Because the downturn is global, most manufacturers expect export orders to fall further in the coming months, according to the British employers' organization, the CBI. In the meantime, British holidaymakers used to vacationing in France or Spain are making plans for breaks closer to home. Outside the Bank of England, which moved to its present central London site in 1734, one oil-industry worker with a fondness for European travel...
Chinese officials have said that now, when the country is straining under the growing pressures of the global downturn and spending billions to help create jobs, is the worst time to call for democratization. Bao argues that economic challenges need to be met with political progress. "Because we have an economic crisis, we need to bring the people together," he says. "We can't take every difference and dissatisfaction and let it intensify. Human rights, democracy, republicanism - these help eliminate, not intensify, conflicts...
...sudden plunge in exports has taken its toll on China's industrial heartland - southern Guangdong province. Jing Ulrich, chairman of China equities at JP Morgan in Hong Kong, believes some 60,000 businesses closed in the region, and the government estimates about 10 million migrant workers are unemployed. The downturn has put "huge stress on the job market," says Credit Suisse economist Dong Tao, which "could cause some social unrest. That's my worry...
...work-week reduction, and last year's law change allows employers to force staff to work longer hours. But most bosses appear to have stuck with the shorter week, to avoid disputes with leisure-loving employees, and, it seems, as a useful tool in dealing with the growing economic downturn...