這裏隱含一個成語To spill the beans

意為「(有意或無意) 洩漏秘密」

爆發於中國的新型冠狀病毒疫情打擊了原油、銅和大豆的需求，但正在推動一些利基(niche)大宗商品市場反彈。

對動力煤或釩鉬合金等原材料來說，中國產量的下滑超過了需求下降的影響，錳也如是。動力煤可用於發電，釩鉬合金可用於增強鋼鐵韌性，而錳是鋼鐵廠和化肥廠使用的一種特殊金屬。

By JENNIFER CONLIN

Hostels are leaving their backpacker image behind, adding upscale locations, stylish furnishings and family-friendly amenities to attract a new generation of budget travelers.

Can urban amenities -- like ballparks, aquariums and river walks -- help stabilize U.S. cities and improve their economic outlooks? A new paper by Wharton real estate professor Albert Saiz and a colleague quantifies the importance of leisure amenities but also provides evidence that spending public dollars on leisure and cultural activities may offer more long-range benefit than traditional economic development focused on job creation. "For the last 50 years, we have been trying to bring businesses to cities," says Saiz, "but maybe it makes more sense to get people in there -- and the businesses will follow."

Niche Between Business and Economy

Jin Lee/Associated Press

The prem-plus section on a plane flown by OpenSkies, a unit of British Airways, offers more legroom.

By SUSAN STELLIN

Published: July 1, 2008

There is a new class of service emerging in the aircraft cabin. It fits between economy and business class, both in amenities and price. It offers a better seat, more legroom, priority boarding and fancier meal service than coach.

As buyout firms cast an eye over Gap and the retailer's interim chief executive, Robert Fisher, passes out memos on to improve business, The New York Times looks at at the anachronism that is the Gap: a single chain, selling only its own brand, with one point of view, chasing shoppers from birth to death.

In an era of niches, when exclusion is as vital as inclusion, Gap has become an anachronism: a single chain, selling only its own brand.

overspill, spill, spillover effect

更多中國日誌的文章 »

You might think that the plunge in global trade since November would have handily settled the long-running debate among economists over how much China depends on exports for its growth. After all, the country's headline economic growth rate has been cut almost in half, from 13% in 2007 to 6.8% in the last quarter of 2008.

But since the collapse in exports also coincided with a sharp slump in the domestic property market -- a crucial driver of investment -- there is still debate over just how much of China's current slowdown is externally driven, and how much is homegrown.

In a new paper, 'How Much Do Exports Matter For China's Growth?', three researchers at the Hong Kong Monetary Authority revisit this question. It's a live issue, as new data show that while exports continued to contract for a fifth straight month in March, the housing market has started to show signs of life.

The paper builds on previous work by one of the authors, Li Cui, who in a 2007 working paper for the International Monetary Fund presented evidence that China was becoming more dependent on external demand over time. Indeed, net exports contributed about 20% of China's economic growth from 2005 to 2007, compared to less than 10% in the previous five years.

But the authors try to go beyond that number to capture the total effect of the export manufacturing sector on the economy, including investment in new factories by exporters, and spending by people employed in those factories. That leads them to conclude that the spill-over effects from the export sector are in fact quite large.

The authors estimate that a decline of 10 percentage points in export growth would be associated with a decline of about 2.5 percentage points in GDP growth. 'This is about at least twice as large as what could have been expected if only the direct impact of exports is considered,' they write.

Part of the explanation, they say, is that exports are extremely important to a group of Chinese coastal provinces, which themselves account for the majority of the national economy. So changes in export demand can cause dramatic fluctuations in those regional economies, even while the inland provinces are less affected.

But of course, China's exports have recently slowed by a lot more than 10 percentage points. In volume terms, export growth rates have swung from around positive 20% in 2007 to nearly negative 20% in the first part of this year.

The biggest effect of a decline in exports, the authors find, is on corporate investment, as companies scale back expansion plans. And since the sharp drop in exports is just a few months old, the full magnitude of the subsequent drop in capital spending may not yet be evident.

Andrew Batson

The Tennessee Valley Authority has played down the risks of what may be the nation’s largest spill of coal ash, but there are questions about its potential toxicity.

Insurgents kill Russian soldiers in Caucasus

Insurgents in the Russian province of Ingushetia have killed at least two Russian interior ministry troops and wounded five more. The militants ambushed a convoy on Saturday in the Caucasus region. An opposition Web site said the death toll was much higher and that numerous vehicles were destroyed in the attack. Russian officials in Moscow and in Ingushetia could not be reached for comment about the claim. Ingushetia is a poor, mainly Muslim republic that has experienced an overspill of violence from neighbouring
You stupid jerk! You've just spilled beer all down my new shirt!

knitting, niche, collectibles, niche market,

In the past decade, Japanese cars from the 1970s have joined the ranks of respectable collectibles.

The company said its website aims to exploit a market niche between internet sales sites such as eBay, which are available to the general public, and auction houses such as Sotheby’s and Christie’s for fine art and collectibles.
這家公司表示，他們網站目標是在提供如一般大眾的銷售網站eBay，和蘇富比、佳士得等精緻藝術和收藏品拍賣公司之間，開創出市場商機。

1. Enesco Recalls Shelly's Diner Collectible Due to Fire Hazard
http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml13/13067.html
Hazard: The diner's power adapter can overheat and melt the adapter's plastic housing, posing a fire hazard.
Shelly's Diner Collectible

News Trends Tilt Toward Niche Sites
By DAVID CARR

As news surges on the Web, news giants are being outmaneuvered by smaller sites that have passionate audiences and sharply focused information.

Knitters Click Needles for Sexy Undergarments

Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: She is part of the knitting club

Knitting is a favourite past time for many, but for some, it’s a serious business. And for others, a passion.

In mall regional town near Hannover, a husband and wife team have put together a knitting circle, to cater for a very specific niche market – the ‘Wool Fetishist’.
With their label "Wolltraum", the couple is providing a unique range of hand-knitted products for people with a taste for personal woolen wares around the world.

niche：名詞，利基、商機；（人或物）適當位置。She has found her niche in this business.（她已經找到她在這行的利基。）

ニッチ【niche】

１西洋建築で、厚みのある壁をえぐって作ったくぼみ部分。彫像や花瓶などを置く。壁龕(へきがん)。

２ある生物が生態系の中で占める位置。生態的地位。ニッチェ。

３橋・トンネルなどのわきに設けられる非常用の退避空間。

４すきま。「―産業」

ニッチさんぎょう【ニッチ産業】

《niche industry》「すき間産業」に同じ。

[名]

1 （人・物に）適した地位, 適所((for, in ...)).

2 壁がん：像・花瓶などを置くための壁などのくぼみ.

3 ニッチ, 市場のすき間
a niche market
ニッチマーケット, すきま市場

a niche product
ニッチプロダクト, すきま製品（niche marketで売られる製品）.

4 《生態学》生態的地位.

5 《医学》ニッシェ：胃などの内壁のX線像に見えるくぼみ.

━━[動](他)

1 ((通例受身または〜 -self))…を（適所に）置く, 安置する
keep one 's niche
住み分けの場所を確保する.

2 〈像を〉壁がんに収める.

［中フランス語←俗ラテン語nidiculāre （nidus巣＋-cul指小辞＋-āre不定詞語尾＝小さな巣を作る）］

above all else：副詞片語，最重要的。例句：He loves his family above all else.（他最愛他的家庭。）

knit

;
━━ vt. （～ted, ～; -tt-）編む, 編んで作る ((out of; into)); 編んでやる ((for)); …目分を表編みする; 密着させる, 団結させる ((together)); （眉を）ひそめる; （筋肉を）引き締める.
━━ vi. 編物をする; 接合する ((together)).
knit up　編んでつくろう; 編み上げる; （毛糸などが）編める.
**well-knit (frame)**　引きしまった（体格）.
━━ n. ニット, 編んだ衣料, 織物.

well knit
adjective
(of a person) strongly and compactly built.
"the well-knit, athletic type"

knit・ter　編む人; 編み機.
knit・ting　編むこと, 編物, 編み細工.
**tend [stick] to one's knitting　他人事に干渉しない, 自分のことに専念する.
knitting machine　編み機.
knitting needle　編み針.
knit・wear**　━━ n. ニットウェア ((衣料)).

collectable[col・lect・a・ble]

発音記号[kəléktəbl]

[形]集められる, 収集可能な；趣味の収集品となり得る.
━━[名]((通例〜s))趣味の収集品.

spill

verb [I or T; usually + adverb or preposition] spilled or UK ALSO spilt, spilled or UK ALSO spilt

to (cause to) flow, move, fall or spread over the edge or beyond the limits of something:

I spilt coffee on my silk shirt.

You've spilt something down your tie.

Let's see if I can pour the juice into the glass without spilling it.

He dropped a bag of sugar and it spilt all over the floor.

Crowds of football fans spilled onto the field at the end of the game.

spill

noun [C]

an amount of something which has come out of a container:

a fuel spill on the road

Could you wipe up that spill, please?

In 1989, there was a massive oil spill in Alaska.

spillage

noun [C or U] FORMAL

a spill:

oil spillages

overspill

ntr.v., -spilled or -spilt (-spĭlt), -spill·ing, -spills.

To spill over.

n. (ō'vər-spĭl')

The act of spilling over.

Something that spills over: an overspill of milk.

Chiefly British. Movement of people from overcrowded cities to less populated areas.

noun [U] UK

people who move out of a crowded city and into other towns or villages near the city:

the overspill from London/the London overspill

an overspill housing estate.

Spillover effects are externalities of economic activity or processes upon those who are not directly involved in it. Odors from a rendering plant are negative spillover effects upon its neighbors; the beauty of a homeowner's flower garden is a positive spillover effect upon neighbors.

In the same way, the economic benefits of increased trade are the spill over effects anticipated in the formation of multilateral alliances of many of the regional nation states: e.g SARC (South Asian Regional Cooperation), ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations)

In reference to psychology, the spillover effect is when other peoples emotions effect the emotions of those around them. For example if one is happy, other people emotions alter as well

budget (CHEAP)
adjective [before noun]
very cheap:
a budget holiday/hotel/price

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niche market noun [C]
a small area of trade within the economy, often involving specialized products:
Lotus make luxury cars for a small but significant niche market.

amenity
noun [C usually plural]
1 something, such as a swimming pool or shopping centre, that is intended to make life more pleasant or comfortable for the people in a town, hotel or other place:
The council has some spare cash which it proposes to spend on public amenities.

2 basic amenities things considered to be necessary to live comfortably such as hot water:
The 200-year-old jail is overcrowded, understaffed and lacking in basic amenities.
a・me・ni・ty