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...gifts this year, down from $122.98 in 2008. That's a 17% drop. Overall, the study projects that Valentine's Day spending will fall 14%, to $14.7 billion, compared with last year. "People are trading down," says George Van Horn, an industry analyst at IBIS World, a research firm that also is predicting a decline in Valentine's Day spending. "This year consumers are thinking about smaller tokens that are thoughtful and not as elaborate and expensive as in years past." (See pictures of expensive things anyway...
...IBIS World projects the sharpest drops for clothing and intimate apparel (don't expect the lingerie, ladies), dining out, jewelry, romantic getaways and flowers. Only greeting cards and candy, the smaller-ticket items, are showing a slight uptick. Brand Keys Inc., a New York City-based research and consulting firm, found that 15% of men and women said they would stay home this Valentine's Day, nearly four times as many as in 2008. Consumers also told the company they'd share gifts with fewer friends and family members. "Your great-aunt may not get something this year," says Robert...
...Recently, research firm RBC Capital Markets revised its estimate for bank failures from 200 to 300 over the next three years to 1,000. RBC said it based its forecast on talks with industry experts and the amount of assets on which banks are not collecting interest as a percentage of tangible capital and loss reserves. (See pictures of the Top 10 scared traders...
...market's behavior is always something of a mug's game, but there was a consensus that the main problem seemed to be that Geithner was just too vague. "Unfortunately, he led the market to believe there would be more details," says Kurt Karl, U.S. economist for the insurance firm Swiss Re. "You can't make the equity market happy every day, I guess...
...estate developer Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc (ARE), will allow taller and denser building to exist in an area of East Cambridge previously shielded from that sort of development by its residential designation. The zoning change applies specifically to ARE and will not authorize dense construction by any other firm. Dozens of residents filled the seats in City Hall and others stood in the aisles, waiting their turn to discuss the controversial measure. Some residents attended the meeting as representatives of local unions and said that they hoped the rezoning measure would provide construction jobs that are otherwise lacking...