Sunday, November 16, 2008

Japan's Feeling It Too

Can't say I like seeing Starbucks or my old employer making this kind of news...

Japan's Service Demand Declines for a Second Month
(via Bloomberg.com):
"Japan's demand for services fell for a second month as squeezed profits began to affect employment and paychecks, dimming prospects for consumer spending to support the world's second-largest economy.
[...]
USJ Co., the operator of theme park Universal Studios Japan, last month reported a 21 percent decline in profit in the first half of this fiscal year, citing fewer visitors and sluggish sales of food and drinks.
[...]
Japanese are thinking twice about buying lattes and going to the movies. Discretionary spending fell 7.5 percent in September from a year earlier, accounting for three quarters of the drop in household purchases. Starbucks Coffee Japan Ltd., an affiliate of the world's biggest coffee chain operator, last week lowered its full-year profit projection 32 percent because of weak sales."
Grim.

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