Struggling with an evaporation of advertising and a downward drift in street corner sales, The New York Times intends to introduce a "metered" model at the beginning of 2011.
At the same time, falling demand is depressing industrial production, and declining commodity prices are squeezing the fiscal position of many export-dependent economies.
Then came steel strings, and that led to the lap guitar—which is also called the steel guitar because the player slides a steel rod up and down the neck.
Yes, there has been a budding economic recovery since the 2008 global crash, but in key indicators in areas such as health and education, major economies have continued to decline.
The results of the company's cost-cutting measures are evident in its profits, which increased five percent during the first three months of this year after it fell over the last two years.
The implication is a sharp decline in global trade, which has plunged partly because oil-producing nations can't afford to import as much as they used to.