They have procedures to ensure their supply chains respond effectively to disasters, and thus generally have the necessary goods in stock.

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The distribution at least is now sorted, the company told a conference call, with almost 96% of goods in stock at any one time instead of the 88% figure seen in January.

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There is much to think about in this presentation of stock market valuations for luxury vs. daily goods producers in Japan.

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In the second stage, people part with their money to stock up on goods before prices rise again.

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"If you look at these websites it is obvious that people have got a stock of goods they are selling, and hiding the proceeds in undeclared offshore bank accounts, " said Ronnie Ludwig of accountants Saffery Champness.

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Nearby in the shopping centre his 18-metre statue gazes down the street as townsfolk stock up on their daily goods.

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In fact, it joined the 10-stock Buffett-inspired portfolio I track on Validea.com in September 2009 a time when luxury goods stocks were quite unloved and remains there today, having gained more than 107%.

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Whenever stock markets around the world crater, investors scramble to find safety in so-called defensive stocks such as consumer goods companies.

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U.S. durable goods orders rose a strong 4.6% in December, which boosted the U.S. stock market and in turn added some more selling pressure to the gold and silver markets.

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