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BBC NEWS | Magazine Monitor: Crunch Creep

• Crunch Creep
  Strange, tangential and often unlikely events laid at the door of the credit crunch, with an added festive flavour. Sales of trousers with elasticated waists have risen 16 per cent because shoppers are buying more durable clothes because of the credit crunch. More details (Sunday Telegraph) Coronation Street stars are fed-up because money-saving bosses have scrapped the catering van on set which dishes out tea and bacon butties to cast and crew. More details (Manchester Evening News) Birds Eye is bringing back the Arctic Roll, that defining pudding of the 70s and 80s, because it is very affordable in these hard times. More details (Guardian) Cadbury has ditched mini Crunchies and Dreams from boxes of Heroes and replaced them with cheaper alternatives such as mini-Bourneville bars, Eclairs and Fudge. More details (Express) Membership is booming at internet dating sites as the credit crunch brings a rush to find a partner to share the pain. More details (Independent) A book that taught Britons how to feed themselves cheaply during World War II rationing is flying off the shelves because of the credit crunch. More details (Express) Clerics believe the credit crunch is responsible for a steady rise in people going to church. More details (Independent) The number of people owning helicopters in Ireland is falling for the first time in more than a decade due to the credit crunch. (The Sun) Sales of smoothies, yoghurt drinks and bottled water have all fallen because of the credit crunch. More details (Daily Telegraph) And with a special festive flavour... The credit crisis is hitting the Christmas getaway, with people choosing to travel by train rather than driving or flying. More details (Daily Telegraph) Christmas cards sent out by the rich and famous - including the Royal Family and Gordon Brown - are more downbeat this year because of the economic crisis. More details (Guardian) There will be more repeats on TV than ever before over the festive season and industry experts are blaming the economic crisis. More details (Daily Mail) Bankers have become the new pantomime villains because of the credit crunch. More details (Guardian) Children will get half as much in their stockings this Christmas as the credit crunch bites. More details (The Sun)
• Crunch Creep
  Strange, tangential and often unlikely events laid at the door of the credit crunch. John Sergeant did well on Strictly Come Dancing, and Daniel Evans on The X Factor, as they were the "feelgood" options in these difficult financial times. More details (Daily Telegraph) Pointy shoulders are very fashionable and are a way of "projecting a stiff upper lip". More details (The Guardian) The pantomime season is reporting roaring business because these plays dramatise dodgy deals and financial injustice. More details (The Guardian) Guns 'n' Roses' 14-years-in-the-making album will only sell well because it will take fans' minds off the credit crunch, says Mojo editor Phil Alexander. More details (audio from Today) Gabrielle in Desperate Housewives is in financial dire straits, as TV viewers don't want to watch rich characters frittering money away. More details (Express on Sunday) And Tiger Woods is not spared either, £6.6m poorer because General Motors has pulled the plug on his sponsorship deal. More details (The Guardian) Mistresses will be getting less expensive gifts. More details (Daily Telegraph) But a man who celebrates Christmas everyday is having to cut back on turkey. More details (Daily Telegraph)
• Crunch Creep
  Strange, tangential and often unlikely events laid at the door of the credit crunch. People are suffering in the bedroom just as much as the boardroom. Sales of sex potions, like herbal Viagra, have risen by 400% in London in recent weeks and 250% nationally. More details (The Sun) Lunchbox sales have leapt 68% as the credit crunch sees workers forgo ready-made sandwiches to munch on homemade food instead. More details (Daily Mail) Many companies may be struggling but, for the chimney sweep, business is booming. Waiting times for sweeps are stretching into months and many are hiring extra staff to cope with the demand from customers trying to save cash on energy bills. More details (Mail on Sunday) Cost-cutting telly bosses have scrapped the traditional Christmas party for the stars of Coronation Street. More details (Daily Star) Travel agents have started charging holidaymakers for taking their expensive glossy brochures home because of the credit crunch and to deter "time wasters". (Daily Mirror) Grieving families are turning to wooden headstones. More details (Metro) Supermodel Elle Macpherson reckons the credit crunch has sent sales of her own-brand undies soaring. More details (Daily Express) Mamma Mia is the highest grossing British film ever, largely due to the credit crunch. More details (Daily Telegraph) Two British explorers hoping to reach the North Pole by hovercraft have cancelled the expedition, blaming the credit crunch. (Daily Star)
• Crunch Creep
  Strange, tangential and often unlikely events laid at the door of the credit crunch. Horses are being abandoned as it costs so much to feed and house them - especially now the price of hay has shot up. More details (The Times) There may not be another Bond film for a while, says 007 actor Daniel Craig. "Economically the world is in quite a lot of trouble so who knows if we can afford to do another Bond movie anytime soon?" More details (Daily Telegraph) ...and if they can, Bond could become an honorary Brummie. More details (Daily Telegraph) The Queen will wear outfits she's worn before on a state visit to Slovenia and Slovakia. More details (Daily Mail) And Coronation Street's Molly will wed in a dress bought for another actress as the wardrobe department cuts its coat. More details (The Mirror) England's cricketers taking part in the Twenty20 Stanford Super Series "swag-grab" - for which they are paid a king's ransom - are told not to enjoy the spoils too much. More details (The Guardian) Author Kathy Lette has given up taxis and instead walks - or jogs - all the way across London's picturesque Regents Park to get about. More details (Daily Telegraph) Cobblers are getting more customers as shoe wearers try to make do and mend, rather than buy new shoes. More details (The Scotsman) And prams are flying out of charity shops as soon as they are wheeled in. More details (The Scotsman) Students may get lower degree marks because of working part-time to pay the bills. More details (Gair Rhydd, Cardiff's Student Weekly) Rather than drowning our sorrows, we are buying less beer. More details Although fans of covers acts may wish to raise a glass to mourn the cancellation of the Hallowfest tribute band event. More detail (Paisley Daily Express) Islamic financial systems which forbid the charging or paying of interest, could come into vogue. More details (The Age)
• Crunch Creep
  Strange, tangential and often unlikely events laid at the door of the credit crunch. Sales of computer games consoles have doubled in the past year from 8.8 million to 17.3 million. More details (Evening Standard) Sales of maternity dresses are up because we are getting more frisky in hard times. More details (The Sun) Coffee beans and coffee-making machines are in demand. More details (Daily Mail) The difficult economic times could trigger a rise in cases of mental illness. More details (Mirror) Billionaire Roman Abramovich postpones his wedding because "now is not a good time to party". More details (The Sun) The British are turning to cake to cheer themselves up in the face of mounting gloom. Identity fraudsters are switching tactics to beat the credit crunch - targeting existing bank accounts instead of using fake identities to open new ones. More details (BBC News) The financial crisis is good for Ryanair. More details (Daily Mail) More middle class shoppers are going to Poundland. More details (The Independent) More students are working part-time. More details (Mail)
• Crunch Creep
  Strange, tangential and often unlikely events laid at the door of the credit crunch. After a hiatus of several weeks the Monitor is pleased to present a bumper crop. "Playboy boss Hugh Hefner is laying off some of his bunny girls because of the credit crunch. The tycoon is reported to have been told to "strip back" loyal staff at his famous glamour empire." More details (Daily Star) "Sales of turnips have rocketed in the past 12 months as families hit by rising prices look for affordable alternatives to more expensive vegetables, such as purple sprouting broccoli and baby sweetcorn... They are potentially a credit crunch vegetable." More details (Times) "Tearooms are enjoying a renaissance in the credit crunch as people discover that sharing a pot of tea is cheaper than a round of cappuccinos. Some report a 30 per cent increase in trade over the past 12 months." More details (Times) "The soaring cost of petrol and the impact of the credit crunch is doing what campaigners and Government initiatives failed to achieve - forcing children to walk to school." (Express) "As the credit crunch bites, fish and chip