Financial Times FT.com

US downturn

Luxuries re-evaluated as budgets tighten

By Justin Baer in New York and Bernard Simon in Toronto

Published: February 14 2008 18:37 | Last updated: February 14 2008 18:37

Luxury hotel stays, sport-utility vehicles and other trappings of upwardly mobile Americans might be among the first casualties of a US recession as consumers and businesses alike look to rein in spending.

For purveyors of those goods and services, from American Airlines and Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide to Detroit’s carmakers, 2008 might the first of several lean years.

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