Financial crisis heralds era of "new seriousness"

LUXURY GOODS SLUMP
After years of strong growth, luxury goods sales are expected to fall globally by 1 percent in the fourth quarter, and may drop by up to 7 percent next year, according to a study by consulting firm Bain and Co. released this month.
U.S. sales of Porsche cars fell by 58 percent in September compared with September 2007, while overall car sales declined by 22 percent, according to figures from Autodata.
Andy Lear, head of planning at the London office of French advertising agency Publicis said the repercussions of the financial crisis -- front-page news worldwide for weeks -- were simply accelerating a trend that already existed.