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Here's the news for the week of March 17, 2008.

In This Week's Issue:
1. WSJ: U.S. in a Recession
2. No Damage to AmericasMart-Atlanta
3. Online, catalog Sales to End
4. On the Move
5. Pinx Shuttered
6. Cole Launching Licensing Division
7. Market Runup
8. Your 2 Cents Worth

1. WSJ: U.S. in a Recession
New York — The United States is in a recession, according to economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal, a conclusion Gifts & Dec’s own poll respondents reached a few weeks ago.
<<Click to Continue>>

2. No Damage to AmericasMart-Atlanta
Atlanta — Despite being just a few blocks from its path, AmericasMart-Atlanta escaped severe damage last weekend from a tornado that ripped through downtown Atlanta, leaving wreckage in its path. <<Click to Continue>>

3. Online, Catalog Sales to End
Kansas City — Hallmark Cards Inc. will stop selling gifts and flowers online and through catalogs at the end of April. Though the privately held company did not disclose figures, a Hallmark spokesperson said that this sector of the business was not delivering the desired financial results. <<Click to Continue>>

4. On the Move
New York and Fairview, NJ -- Designer Greetings has expanded its creative staff and opened an additional state-of-the-art studio in Manhattan. Another company, Nikko Ceramics, which is celebrating its centennial year has reorganized its executive lineup in the United States and in Japan. <<Click to Continue>>

5. Pinx Shuttered
Oxnard, CA — After 24 years of creating children’s greeting cards and stationery featuring whimsical watercolor designs, Pinx, A Card Company has closed its doors. <<Click to Continue>>

6. Cole Launching Licensing Division
Richmond,VA — Karen Bullard, whose artistry is popularized in her works for karen cole paper, LLC, is launching karen cole design, a licensing division, which will debut in June at the International Licensing Industry Merchandisers' Association annual expo.<<Click to Continue>>

7. Market Runup
Be sure to check for national and international market pre-show news every week at www.giftsanddec.com. Just click on "Gift Markets" in the tool bar at the top of the page, and then click on Market Previews. This week we give you the scoop on the Stationery Show, Surtex and The Supply Side.

8. Your 2 Cents Worth
We're beginning to struggle a bit; probably under the weight of spiraling gas prices and other negative economic indicators that encourage consumers keep their wallets closed. While nearly half of those respondeding to last week's poll asking how sales so far compared with the same year-ago period said they were better, more than half indicated they were worse. On the plus side, nearly 13 percent said their sales were "way better" than last year at this time, while over 28 percent said sales were a "little better." On the negative side, nearly 31 percent of respondents said their sales were worse and 23 percent said they were much worse. An equal percentage of respondents -- some 2.56 percent -- said they either had "no idea," or were "afraid to check."

And speaking of checking, do check out this week's poll.

To comment on polls or to suggest a poll question, contact mweiskott@reedbusiness.com

Trends & Forecasts--Vendors Generally Upbeat in Face of Weakening Economy

Presidential election, credit crunch, spiraling fuel prices — these are but a few of the hurdles we are facing this year, making the task of forecasting nothing short of a monumental challenge. And it's a challenge that's especially acute for anyone in the business of asking wary consumers to open their wallets; that business, of course, being retail. Click Here to Order

For daily news updates visit www.GiftsandDec.com.

That's all for now. We'll be with you again next week.

Maria Weiskott, Editor In Chief
Matthew Kalash, Managing Editor

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