Each item is shown in careful detail: the company learnt early on that viewers are quick to demand close-ups of seams and back pockets for a better idea of the product.

ECONOMIST: TV shopping in Japan

Expectations of more favorable monetary policies, including two cuts in banks' reserve requirement ratio in the past three months, are creating isolated pockets of optimism, though analysts said Beijing would be quick to put a damper on any signs of a price rebound.

WSJ: China Housing Prices Fall Again

The good news is that, other than eliciting a mass reaching out for i-phones in the pockets of Armani suits and Prada handbags and the snapping of quick series of i-photos, the demonstration seems to have left its audience entirely unaffected.

FORBES: Sex, Art, and Politics (Oh, What A Night!)