Michael Morgan, who runs a car wash close to the scene, said he went to investigate on Wednesday after spotting a dog "too good to be a stray" by itself.

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The town has a population of over 2, 000 and Mr Morgan said that although it will take someone with a car about half-an-hour to travel to Dolgellau it will involve considerably more effort for anyone who has to travel by bus.

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Alex Kinmont, an investment analyst for Morgan Stanley, points out that the domestic overcapacity in Japan's car market is equivalent to Britain's total car production.

ECONOMIST: Corporate Japan goes to waste

According to Christopher Redl of Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, an American investment bank, two-thirds of a typical Japanese car is still made in high-cost Japan.

ECONOMIST: Small Japanese companies

But Benjamin Swinburne, a media analyst at Morgan Stanley, is forecasting a surprisingly strong rebound in advertising, especially on television, because dealers' spending on car and truck ads has fallen implausibly low: down by 65% in the first quarter of 2009 compared with the same period last year.

ECONOMIST: The recession in advertising