These early figures from the application process for autumn 2013 - ahead of the main deadline in January - show a further downward fall.

BBC: University applications down by 8%

Visions of the downward spiral of fall, hospital, nursing home fill your head.

FORBES: Mom! Look Out, Don't Fall!

The slight fall continues the downward trend which started in October.

BBC: Indian inflation eases to 11-month low in December

The growth in the first quarter decelerates below forecasted expectations causing these same economists to fall over themselves with downward revisions.

FORBES: Recessionary Differentiations

With Motorola and HTC also on the downward slide, the US market this fall was increasingly mirroring its global counterpart, where it was really Apple and Samsung's game to play -- others might have to be content watching from the sidelines in the future.

ENGADGET: ComScore: iPhone up to 35 percent of US smartphone share in November, Android steady

Sir Ian Blair, former commissioner of the Met Police, said that, given the downward trend was across the developing world, he believed the fall was due to the "change in the way society views and abhors violence".

BBC: UK Peace Index highlights rate of fall in violent crime

Weak banks in peripheral countries remain vulnerable to a downward spiral in which their holdings of government bonds are downgraded and fall in value, forcing them to come up with ever more collateral to keep borrowing from the central bank.

ECONOMIST: The ECB fills banks with funds

The Dow drifted downward for a year and in mid-1974 went into free-fall, hitting bottom in December at 570, or 53% of the high.

FORBES: The Dow Is Retracing the Stagflation Market

By fall the country had slipped into a depression, and the market resumed a downward course that did not touch bottom until July 1932.

CNN: Commentary: Is it 1929 all over again?