The great upthrust of the immigrant working class into the middle class after World War II, via the GI Bill, was stopped stone cold by the events of the autumn of 1973, when the October war in the Middle East led to the quadrupling of oil prices virtually overnight and the great inflation set in.

BBC: Class calculator: A US view of the class system

House prices dropped in October compared with the previous month as the property market saw an autumn fall, according to the Nationwide.

BBC: House prices fell 0.7% in October, says Nationwide

Looking ahead, the Autumn Canton trade fair from October 15 to November 4 will be important to watch for in terms of assessing whether such improvements can be sustained into the fourth quarter, Barclays analysts led by Jian Chang in Hong Kong told clients in a note over the weekend.

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