Trouble in Toyland: U.S. recession jolts China

For American parents, bargain prices for toys this holiday season qualify as good news: A Barbie fan who rose before dawn for Wal-Mart’s Black Friday sale could secure the coquettish “Barbie Diamond Castle Princess Liana Doll” for $5 — royally marked down from its regular retail price. At Target, a 10-pack of die-cast Hot Wheels cars also went for just $5, while a radio-controlled helicopter cost a mere $15. The price wars were enough to draw consumers out of their bunkers for their first shopping spree in months.

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Mattel Reports Profit Despite Recalls

Mattel Inc. posted a 15 percent gain in fourth-quarter profit, even though it entered the crucial holiday season in the shadow of negative publicity over its recalls of millions of Chinese-made toys tainted with lead.

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With photos! When a bevy of fire trucks, ambulances, and squad cars noisily descended upon the China Basin building moments ago, we thought Laura Ling and Euna Lee had come home on the Concorde and were visiting the old neighborhood. Nope.

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