Asian shoppers tighten belts

Shopping is a national obsession in Singapore, yet this Lunar New Year retailers are struggling to get the city's usually insatiable shoppers to part with their cash as a cloud of economic gloom hangs over Asia.

"Even though there's a 50 percent sale on here, look at the sales counter, there's no one queuing. That's not normal," said Mrs Them, a 47-year-old housewife, browsing through a department store at the city's renowned Orchard Road shopping district.

The Lunar New Year, which starts on Jan 26, comes hard on the heels of Christmas, signaling a traditional two-month shopping frenzy in most of East Asia as consumers splash out on seasonal foods as well as gifts and new clothes for the holidays.