Hi, Gordon - it's the same in retailing; life's getting a bit tougher and the best way to earn a daily crust from it is to buy little and turn over fast. There are some years when buying loads of stock makes no sense at all - I figure that this is one of them; multiply this up by the number of retailers in the world, and that's one reason why manufacturing industries are having a hard time.

I hope that your prediction for better times to come - relying on demographic changes - holds true!!

Margaret