economic recession

Changing consumer tastes, a two-year-old smoking ban and the deepening economic recession have hit pubs hard. But for thousands, the death blow has been dealt by rising government taxes on beer.

The British Beer and Pub Association says an average of 52 pubs are closing each week.

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Everyone knows California considers itself a trendsetter in everything from culture to commerce. And now a Bay-area town with a $16 million budget shortfall has declared municipal bankruptcy in what could be a harbinger of things to come for cities like Austin, which faces red ink of its own — as much a $40 million worth, according to some estimates.

Citing disappearing tax revenues and housing declines in the current economic recession, council members in Vallejo, California, about 25 miles north of San Francisco, this week voted unanimously to throw in the financial towel.