The rationale here is that even hard-pressed consumers will not skimp on ice cream for their children.

Finally, there are preliminary indications that consumers, hard-pressed by high gasoline prices, may be reaching their limit.

There is certainly some light appearing at the end of the tunnel for the hard-pressed consumer," added Goodwin.

"This is compounded by the hard-pressed consumer making it difficult to pass on inflation at the full rate and margin being impacted by a switch to lower-margin entry-level product."

Britain's hard-pressed consumers are trading down to cheaper brands and making fewer visits to the supermarket as higher inflation erodes their spending power.

His abrupt decontrol of food prices angered already hard-pressed consumers.

The inspection system, critics say, is a case study of the regulations in Japan that benefit businesses at the expense of hard-pressed consumers.

Scam artists have found a new way to profit from the recession: bilking hard-pressed consumers who are looking for loans.

Forward buying at the top of the market, giving sky-high prices today, barely raises a whimper from the regulator, leaving hard-pressed consumers without the relief that he should be providing.

I believe it will be the hard-pressed consumers who will end up bearing the brunt.