Editor’s leader:

2009 is the Chinese Year of The Ox – said to be the sign of prosperity through diligence, fortitude, graceful power and quiet hard work. Hmm. Frantic hard work and highly in-elegant scratching around for cash, more likely, since it is actually the year of The Pay-Back; the domino effect of our erstwhile largesse. The Day of Reckoning has arrived . . . time to clear our debts and learn not to spend money we haven’t yet earned. The party is now well and truly over.
     Cold-water headlines fill newspapers around the world – I am reading how, in Britain, 39 pubs each week are closing their doors forever – blaming the downturn, supermarket prices and the smoking ban. In Germany, the average consumer drank two litres less beer last year than in 2007, making the breweries froth at the mouth as their sales dropped two per cent. Meanwhile, Australian wineries whine that their exports fell more than 25 per cent in November. We can’t even afford to drown our sorrows now, it seems.
     Five years ago exactly, I wrote an article entitled, ‘Ethics in the money mix’ – how the financial services sector might be storing up trouble by sending out DM cash offers to sub-prime targets. Even back then, the experts I interviewed warned tough times would result.
     Now, experts are giving recession survival tips, such as targeting countries with stronger economies than our own (there are some – page 21), forging strategic partnerships in niche markets and making an impression on clients in lieu of sales (page 10) – to increase the number of prospects we have ready for when the good times roll again; as they surely will.
     We are told we should batten down the hatches but stay on the radar, in order to keep ahead of competitors who are also feeling the pinch (page 14). We must learn to use all the channels we possibly can (pages 20, 24 & 36), as well as we can, and plan how to remain the best. Just like Team Obama in the USA, which is already building on its voter database of 13 million email addresses, ready for the next Presidential race.
     Talking of the new President, don’t you feel ever so slightly sorry for him? The troubles of the world on his shoulders as the eyes of the world watch his every step. If he puts a foot wrong – or (heaven forfend) fails, those names on his database will be baying for his blood.
     I would suggest offering up some prayers for him but I have just read The Times’ columnist, Jeremy Clarkson, who notes that 750,000 more people went online shopping on Christmas Day than went to church. This is perhaps a sad indictment on
modern society but, actually, exceptionally good news for e-tailers (page 39).
     Hmm. My local bishop is cash-strapped but very canny – I expect to receive an email from him soon, marketing his Internet Cathedral.