-
(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
It’s hard to find something not impacted by our current financial crisis. Here are 12 examples of what the recession means for specific things, from Spam to sex addiction1.
1. Spam
It looks like meat, it tastes like meat, but it’s a far cheaper substitute for meat. It’s Spam! And it’s booming. Though Hormel’s share price has fallen with the overall market, Spam sales are soaring as the economic crisis leaves consumers strapped2 for cash. Interestingly enough, Spam, the “crazy tasty” mix of ham, pork, sugar, salt, potato starch3 and a sodium4 nitrite, was invented during the Great Depression and became a staple5 for Allied6 troops overseas in the 1940s.
2. Marriage and Divorce
Breaking up is hard to do, especially in this economy. While it may be too early to know the impact of the crisis on divorce rates, it appears divorces may have slowed down since the financial crisis began. That’s because despite most arguments being over financial issues, it may just be too expensive to pay the legal fees of a divorce and support two households. In fact, during the Great Depression, divorce rates dropped sharply, though they picked back up immediately thereafter.
3. Recycling
The plunge7 in commodity prices has taken a toll8 on recyclers. In fact, the whole movement may come to a halt as oil and metal prices fall. Used newspaper, used cardboard, and scrap9 metal prices have also seen a drop, partially10 due to dwindling11 home construction and slower automobile12 production. Some recyclers are closing their doors, and in the UK entire city councils are abandoning their recycling efforts, as they are no longer economically feasible.
“There is no rhyme or reason to the way the market is trading,” says a personal trader. “When conditions are this volatile15, consulting a psychic13 can be as good a strategy as any other.” Psychics, astrologers, palm readers and “professional advice-givers” say business is booming as clients come to them seeking financial guidance. Clients will typically pay $75 to $1000 for an hour’s worth of insight!
5. Holiday Parties
Just as you suspected, companies are cutting back on their holiday galas. ABC News announced the cancellation16 of its annual celebration. American Express did the same and then some – announcing the cancellation of 2009’s celebration as well.
But what about the caterers? 56% of party planners say that their corporate17 holiday party numbers will be off more than 10% this year compared to last. They’re scrambling18 to come up with innovative19, more somber20 types of gatherings21 like luncheons22, pot-lucks, and receptions rather than galas, caviar, and glam.
6. Used Car Sales
The used car business is flourishing! Specifically, used car companies that offer buy-here/pay-here financing for lower credit individuals who have been locked out of traditional lending.
But if used isn’t your thing, it may still be a decent time to buy new. That’s because even steady growth car makers23 like Honda and Toyota have seen 24% and 32% declines, respectively. Car dealers24 are desperate to get rid of inventory25 and are offering invoice26 and below invoice prices. Look for dealers that have a lot of inventory, because they’ll likely offer the best deals.
7. Iceland Tourism
Looking for a good holiday or spring trip? Look to Iceland!
Once an economic success story, this small country is now, well, bankrupt. If you were attune27 to Fannie and Freddie and the big Wall Street break-up, you may have missed Iceland’s fall. Its three largest banks were oversized and highly leveraged28, and seemed ready for collapse29 in early October. Iceland’s currency, the krona, is essentially30 valueless, and foreign trade has come to a halt. Luckily, the IMF and its Nordic neighbors have stepped in, lending $2.1 billion and $2.5 billion respectively to help the country recover.
But tourism appears to be on the rise. Airfare search engines report a 400% increase in Iceland flight searches. A recent search of round-trip flights from New York found tickets at a record low of $471.
8. College Endowments
Ivy31 League schools aren’t immune to the financial crisis. Since many college endowments are invested in alternative asset classes, which have lost value, they’re seeing unprecedented32 losses. Many college and university endowments are projected to have decreased by 30% this fiscal33 year. For Harvard, that may mean an $11 billion drop.
HealthTop TipsNutritionLoveLifestyleHappinessWeight Loss
That may mean a decrease in financial aid – especially because lenders can no longer sell their securitized loans in the secondary market to get new money to offer new student loans. Despite Congress’ Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loans Act of 2008, which authorizes34 the Education Department to buy federal student loans from education lenders for the 2008-09 and 2009-10 school years, there’s a chance financial aid may fall short.
The Lipstick Indicator36 is an economic theory proposed by Leonard Lauder, the chairman of Estée Lauder Companies. The theory states that a direct relation exists between rising sales in tubes of lipstick and a falling financial market – the worse the economy, the more women indulge in small purchases, like $10 tubes of lipstick. There are conflicting reports as to whether Lauder’s theory is holding up this downturn. Perhaps hosiery sales will supplant37 lipstick as the indicator of choice. Overall hosiery sales rose 2.3% this year, with Spanx seeing a 77% increase in sales compared to last year.
10. NASCAR
Very few sports have been hit harder by the economic crisis than NASCAR. From ticket sales to souvenir sales to team sponsorship from large companies, racing38 is reeling. That’s because an average NASCAR team relies on corporate sponsors for 80% of its budget. That’s four times the percentage of an NFL franchise’s budget. And many of those corporate sponsors, including the Big Three – GM spent $578M in sports advertising39 in 2007, including NASCAR – are facing high-profile hard times of their own. As a result, some NASCAR teams, including Chip Ganassi Racing and Dale Earnhardt Inc., have merged40 in an attempt to attract corporate sponsors.
11. Personal Maintenance
According to the International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association, gym memberships have been on the decline since 2007. There’s no sign that these former gymrats are instead opting41 for cosmetic42 surgery – 53% of plastic surgeons of the American Society for Aesthetic43 Plastic Surgery say business has slowed.
12. Sex & Sex Addiction
Will the financial crisis spark a baby boom? It just might. According to the Telegraph, sales of sex toys, pregnancy44 tests, maternity45 clothes, and baby equipment are soaring. But that’s not the only place sex may have increased. Jonathan Alpert, a Manhattan psychotherapist, has seen a big jump in the number of Wall Street workers who seek help for the sex addictions46. Apparently47, the economic crisis has sparked “maladaptive coping mechanisms” among bankers, according to Jodi Conway, a sex addiction therapist in New Jersey48.
点击收听单词发音
1 addiction | |
n.上瘾入迷,嗜好 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
2 strapped | |
adj.用皮带捆住的,用皮带装饰的;身无分文的;缺钱;手头紧v.用皮带捆扎(strap的过去式和过去分词);用皮带抽打;包扎;给…打绷带 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
3 starch | |
n.淀粉;vt.给...上浆 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
4 sodium | |
n.(化)钠 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
5 staple | |
n.主要产物,常用品,主要要素,原料,订书钉,钩环;adj.主要的,重要的;vt.分类 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
6 allied | |
adj.协约国的;同盟国的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
7 plunge | |
v.跳入,(使)投入,(使)陷入;猛冲 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
8 toll | |
n.过路(桥)费;损失,伤亡人数;v.敲(钟) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
9 scrap | |
n.碎片;废料;v.废弃,报废 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
10 partially | |
adv.部分地,从某些方面讲 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
11 dwindling | |
adj.逐渐减少的v.逐渐变少或变小( dwindle的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
12 automobile | |
n.汽车,机动车 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
13 psychic | |
n.对超自然力敏感的人;adj.有超自然力的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
14 psychics | |
心理学,心灵学; (自称)通灵的或有特异功能的人,巫师( psychic的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
15 volatile | |
adj.反复无常的,挥发性的,稍纵即逝的,脾气火爆的;n.挥发性物质 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
16 cancellation | |
n.删除,取消 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
17 corporate | |
adj.共同的,全体的;公司的,企业的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
18 scrambling | |
v.快速爬行( scramble的现在分词 );攀登;争夺;(军事飞机)紧急起飞 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
19 innovative | |
adj.革新的,新颖的,富有革新精神的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
20 somber | |
adj.昏暗的,阴天的,阴森的,忧郁的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
21 gatherings | |
聚集( gathering的名词复数 ); 收集; 采集; 搜集 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
22 luncheons | |
n.午餐,午宴( luncheon的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
23 makers | |
n.制造者,制造商(maker的复数形式) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
24 dealers | |
n.商人( dealer的名词复数 );贩毒者;毒品贩子;发牌者 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
25 inventory | |
n.详细目录,存货清单 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
26 invoice | |
vt.开发票;n.发票,装货清单 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
27 attune | |
v.使调和 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
28 leveraged | |
促使…改变( leverage的过去式和过去分词 ); [美国英语]杠杆式投机,(使)举债经营,(使)利用贷款进行投机 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
29 collapse | |
vi.累倒;昏倒;倒塌;塌陷 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
30 essentially | |
adv.本质上,实质上,基本上 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
31 ivy | |
n.常青藤,常春藤 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
32 unprecedented | |
adj.无前例的,新奇的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
33 fiscal | |
adj.财政的,会计的,国库的,国库岁入的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
34 authorizes | |
授权,批准,委托( authorize的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
35 lipstick | |
n.口红,唇膏 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
36 indicator | |
n.指标;指示物,指示者;指示器 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
37 supplant | |
vt.排挤;取代 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
38 racing | |
n.竞赛,赛马;adj.竞赛用的,赛马用的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
39 advertising | |
n.广告业;广告活动 a.广告的;广告业务的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
40 merged | |
(使)混合( merge的过去式和过去分词 ); 相融; 融入; 渐渐消失在某物中 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
41 opting | |
v.选择,挑选( opt的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
42 cosmetic | |
n.化妆品;adj.化妆用的;装门面的;装饰性的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
43 aesthetic | |
adj.美学的,审美的,有美感 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
44 pregnancy | |
n.怀孕,怀孕期 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
45 maternity | |
n.母性,母道,妇产科病房;adj.孕妇的,母性的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
46 addictions | |
瘾( addiction的名词复数 ); 吸毒成瘾; 沉溺; 癖好 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
47 apparently | |
adv.显然地;表面上,似乎 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
48 jersey | |
n.运动衫 | |
参考例句: |
|
|