In the Boston area, Larry Green, chief executive of Rentals Unlimited, has seen yearly demand for red carpeting more than quadruple, to 60-plus events since 2002.

WSJ: It's Time Again in Hollywood to Roll Out the Reddish Carpet

"The EU economy will move into higher gear in the second half of 1999 as a result of an improved international environment and a domestic demand that resisted the global slowdown, " the EU executive body said in its regular twice-yearly economic forecasts.

BBC: Bullish outlook for Europe's economy

Despite a burgeoning supply from China and demand from the Middle East, Josephine Ive, who heads up Magnums Butlers and trains 600 Chinese service staff yearly, says her students are often hesitant to make the trip.

CNN: SHARE THIS