If you work in the electronics industry, trouble may be on the horizon. Gartner analyst Richard Gordon reports that a weakening global economy will cause a "widespread slowdown" in the electronics sector as consumers stop spending. This will affect the chip industry, he said, and the fallout will not end until the second half of next year. Gordon said the credit crisis, the housing disaster and high energy prices are key to the bleak equation in the United States.

While sales of personal computers and mobile phones have held up so far because of demand in emerging markets, he says nations like China, India, Russia and several countries in South America eventually will feel the impact of the worsening global economy. When that happens, he says, "it seems inconceivable that we will not see a more significant reduction in spending on electronics, even in the most resilient of industry sectors and regional markets."

For more on the slowing economy:
- check out this PCWorld article