Signs of the times

The global recession manifests itself in big ways and small; most gloomy, some quirky and many reflecting the inventive human spirit. Here is a look at some signs of the times.

• Forget layoffs or hold-ups, just being identified as bank employees can be risky these days. At a recent performance of the pantomime Jack and the Beanstalk at the Cambridge Arts Theatre in England, the cast reading a list of 'hellos' to the audience welcomed a party from a bank. Then they joined the audience in booing.

• The drums are silent and the only footfalls at Manhattan's Djoniba Dance & Drum Centre this week are the sounds of movers packing up. The 15-year-old African dance group closed its doors after a rent hike and falling enrolment as the economy soured, owner Djoniba Mouflet said. The centre is still hoping to re-open. It took a cue from Barack Obama's successful White House campaign with a Web site plea to raise money through small donations: "Take action! E-mail and tell your friends, the impact Djoniba Centre had on you & the community. Invite them to make a tax-deductible donation of $2. Imagine if 50,000 people donated $2...!

• Your assets are hurting? It may be a good time to lose that wife or husband. In China, fears of a prolonged recession have triggered a sharp increase in divorce inquiries to lawyers and financial advisers, state media reports. Wealthy spouses were keen to strike a deal while asset values were low, Shu Xin of the China Divorce Service Centre told the China Daily.

• Even before Santa let them down, US retailers were taking another hit amid the recession - from shoplifters. The Retail Industry Leaders Association says its survey of 52 of the largest and fastest growing American retailers shows that crime went up as the economy tanked. The group said in December that 84 per cent of retailers surveyed reported an increase in theft and amateur shoplifting and 76 per cent reported an increase in financial fraud.

• Low-cost Irish airline Ryanair is not waiting for the markets to deliver their verdict on the British pound. On a Christmas Eve flight from Nimes, France, to London, the airline devalued the currency to parity with the euro. A cheerful voice came over the public address system just after passengers had settled in their seats, urging them to ignore the sterling prices on the menu for drinks and snacks, and just use the euro price when paying in pounds. Merry Christmas, Britain!

• To stimulate flagging apparel sales in the last five days of 2008, Japan's Ito-Yokado retail chain said it will pay 1,000 yen ($11) in exchange for an old coat, suit or handbag or shoes brought by shoppers who buy 5,000 yen ($55) in clothes.

• With the American Pet Products Association predicting at least half of dog and cat owners - 20 million people - would buy holiday gifts for their pets, The Washington Post last week ran a feature on some high-tech treats: an electronic mouse ($59.49-$69.99), an automatic self-cleaning litter box ($329) and a treadmill for dogs ($489.99 to $2,995)

The article ended with a wink at the economic patriotism some advertisers have tried to drum up: "Overpriced? Probably. Unnecessary? Entirely. A gift for not only yourself and your dog, but the entire US economy? Absolutely."