Apple’s Wings Clipped By Recession
Apple’s Mac business has slowed and is expected to shrink this quarter, reports Business Insider. Last year, Apple’s March quarter Mac shipments grew 51% year-over-year. Financial analysts expects Apple’s Mac unit shipments to drop 4% year-over-year this quarter to 2.2 million units. Several factors combine to stop the phenomenal growth it had last year: a huge drop in the PC market led by the US financial crash; an unattractive desktop Mac lineup; and the success of cheap, low-end netbooks.
Makers of household goods and food are paying more attention to the “paycheck cycle” as cash-strapped consumers are showing a tendency to make their largest purchases when their salaries first come in and to cut back as that money runs out. With more consumers living from paycheck to paycheck, some companies have looked at ways to time their promotions around periods when consumers’ wallets are likely to be well cushioned.
PepsiCo Inc.’s
Frito-Lay snacks business in some stores has tried “promotions that are different at the beginning of the month than at the end of the month,” Chief Financial Officer Richard Goodman said in a recent interview. “People have more money to spend at the beginning [of the month] and a little less at the end,” he said.
In uncertain times, people often seek comfort in the familiar, and as last week’s runways showed us at
New York Fashion Week, the forecast for fall fashion calls for familiar classics with modern twists.
Crayola Brights: Explosions of brightness added much needed sunshine and optimism to an overall toned down fashion week.
Impressionist Inspired: Dresses and tops across the runway were given an artistic twist with brushstroke prints and softened hues that exuded an ethereal understated glamour.
Go For the Gold: (And Silver and Bronze) Perhaps inspired by last year’s
Olympic Games, or maybe designers just felt the need to add a little sparkle to their collections this fall.
Venus in Furs: Retro glam is in the cards for fall fashion and fur is a trend that ran the gamut on the runways from stoles and neck warmers to jackets.
Shoulder to Shoulder: The strong shoulders and shoulder pads commanding a presence on the runways this year are less Working Girl and more modern businesswomen.
As the Obama administration’s stimulus package faces an uphill battle in resurrecting the US economy, global conditions continue to decline and could lead to skyrocketing prices, political instability, increasing public rage and the need for escapism, according to the 38th Annual Trend/Forecasting Report by The Dilenschneider Group. Net net, we’re all screwed.
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Francis Anderson 