There were new cars abandoned by fleeing expatriates and three-year-old housing developments being torn down to make room for even newer housing developments.

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The day of reckoning has arrived in the Valley. Online content pirating, increased competition, a flooded market, the economic crisis, and a series of federal obscenity indictments have completely transformed the business of making adult movies. Consumers are no longer interested in paying for what they can get online for free. Across the board, those I spoke to reported profits have fallen by an estimated 30 to 50 percent.

The pay gap between executives and the average American worker has always been pretty big, and seems to have increased as the world's economy grows. But with the recent recession bringing the most desperate financial conditions the world has seen since the Great Depression, one could be excused for expecting this gap to be reduced.

France : 11% de chômeurs en 2010 selon l'OCDE - Faut en virer plus que nos actions grimpent enfin

Hyper-localized currencies have been popping ever since the economy went sour--not surprising, since local currencies also gained popularity during the Great Depression.

It's legal to print your own money in the U.S. as long as you don't re-create or deface the dollar, according to the Treasury Department. The Torch would be subject to the same taxes as the dollar.