Financial meltdown won't spoil Halloween fun

Papa Murphy's Take 'N' Bake Pizza's signature Halloween pizza.Global stocks markets are plummeting, house prices are slumping and jobless figures are rising but Americans are not about to let a financial crisis dent their Halloween fun.

Global stocks markets are plummeting, house prices are slumping and jobless figures are rising but Americans are not about to let a financial crisis dent their Halloween fun.

About three quarters of Americans plan to celebrate the ghost and goblins holiday, and despite the credit crunch most are going to delve deeper into their pockets this year to buy candies, costumes and decorations.

The average American will spend $47 on Halloween, 18 percent more than last year, credit card company Visa Inc said, based on the findings of its polls of American consumers.

Although the surveys were done in late summer, October's financial meltdown is unlikely to curb Halloween spending.

"I think people are still going to be spending on Halloween," said Jason Alderman, director of financial education at Visa Inc.

"It is one of those holidays that people derive a lot of pleasure for a relatively little amount of money. In these challenging times when a lot of people are worried and a pall is cast over a lot of families. This is a relatively inexpensive way to try to forget those troubles," he added.

The National Retail Federation (NRF) puts the figure even higher at $66.54. It predicts total spending for the holiday will be about $5.7 billion, based on its September poll by BIG research of 8,167 consumers.

"The bottom line when it comes to Halloween, in general, it is a relatively cheap and inexpensive holiday and consumers are ready to focus on fun and forget about what is going on," Kathy Grannis, a spokesperson for the NRF, explained.

Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin is expected to be a top choice for Halloween. She topped the list of most searched political masks on Yahoo, followed by presidential hopefuls Barack Obama and John McCain.

眼下全球股市暴跌、房价下滑，失业率不断上升，但金融危机并没有影响到美国民众过万圣节的好心情。

调查显示，今年约有四分之三的美国民众打算庆祝万圣节；尽管面临信贷紧缩，但多数人表示今年万圣节他们还是会购买糖果、节日服装和装饰品。

该项由Visa信用卡公司在美国消费者中开展的调查显示，今年万圣节的人均消费预计为47美元，比去年增长18%。

尽管该调查是在今年夏末进行的，但10月份的金融危机应该不会影响到万圣节的节日消费。

Visa公司金融教育主管杰森•阿德尔曼说：“我认为万圣节还是会掀起一阵消费热。”

他说：“万圣节可以让人们得到很多乐趣，花钱又不多。在这种人人担忧、家家烦恼的非常时期，欢度万圣节是一个既经济实惠又能忘记烦恼的好机会。”

据全美零售业协会（NRF）估算，今年万圣节的人均消费甚至会更高，预计将达66.54美元。该机构根据BIG公司今年9月对8167名消费者开展的一项调查作出预测，今年万圣节的总消费额将达约57亿美元。

NRF发言人凯西•格兰尼斯解释说：“这主要是因为过万圣节的花费相对较少，人们打算趁机狂欢一把，忘记眼下发生的一切。”

共和党副总统候选人莎拉•佩林有望成为万圣节的最热门人物。日前，她成为雅虎网“大选热门人物面具”搜索榜冠军，超过了两位总统候选人巴拉克•奥巴马和约翰•麦凯恩。