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...that growth will slip backward once China's recession-fighting stimulus is scaled back. One reason Xu's minivan sales have accelerated is government tax breaks and rebates offered on certain car purchases - incentives that won't last forever. State subsidies have also been given to rural residents to spur sales of refrigerators and washing machines. Though the government is implementing longer-lasting plans to convince citizens to spend more money (including a $125 billion program to improve national health care, especially in less developed regions), those efforts will take years to reach their full impact...
...even if the idea of a lifelike rodent crawling around your carpet creeps you out a bit, you must admit that the critters are kind of cute. "They have a degree of realism to them," says McGowan, who predicts the Zhu Zhus will spur the biggest toy craze since Tickle Me Elmo was on shelves in 1996. "They appear to be thinking about what they are doing. That's endearing...
This issue features the debut of what we hope will be another annuity: our ranking of the 10 Best College Presidents. These days, college presidents are no longer leaders of insular academic institutions. They are CEOs of knowledge businesses that spur the local and national economies and foster innovation on a global scale. Yes, they still do a lot of fundraising (which is even harder in a down economy), but every entrepreneur needs to do that, and the best college presidents are forward-looking entrepreneurs of education. At the center of the package is a profile of Ohio State University...
...loosen their purse strings. Beijing, for example, is undertaking a three-year, $125 billion program to build hospitals and clinics to extend healthcare to 90% of the population. Along with these very long-term efforts to boost consumer confidence, the government has also implemented short-term measures to spur on spending. Car sales this year have been boosted by tax breaks and China's own "cash-for-clunkers" program. Xu Zhanrong's Wuling minivan sales have been helped along by a special 10% rebate offered on certain vehicles to residents of rural areas, who make up a majority...
...reality. Insiders predict films' box-office take in the early part of the week, monitor the returns on Saturday and then, when the numbers are announced on Sunday morning, say how surprised or disappointed they are. Forecasting the weekend grosses has become a rabid Internet pastime, and the spur to free publicity when news services cover the "story" in Sunday columns like this one. Stats freaks get to crystal-ball movies' grosses on Thursday, then analyze their predictions three days later. Some people bet money on the outcomes - the movie-industry equivalent of an office pool on college football...