Eternal Image Inc (fka ETNLQ)

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another little blurb:

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http://tristatehomepage.com/content/fulltext/?cid=32591


U.S. Funeral Business Untouched By Economy
Reported by: Web Producer

Tuesday, Oct 14, 2008 @07:26am CST

U.S. Funeral Business Untouched By Economy, Brits Can't Bury Poor

(Orlando, FL) -- The credit crunch may mean Americans aren't living it up as much, but they're still dying expensively.
Business is booming for funeral industry execs who gathered for their annual convention in Orlando, Florida this week.
The National Funeral Directors Association says people are still willing to tap into retirement plans or cash in a life insurance policy to bid a costly farewell to loved ones.
The trade group says Americans spend 11-billion dollars a year on funeral services.
That's likely to grow as baby boomers reach their peak dying years between 2020 and 2040.
Convention attendees said people will still pay top dollar for a great send-off.
One mausoleum reported its top-of-the-line cast-stone tomb-for-two is still a bestseller at 15-grand.
When casket maker Eternal Image began offering sports insignias last year, business took off.
Now the company also offers other logos, including the Star Trek insignia.
The largesse of grieving Americans contrasts sharply with Britain's response to the credit crunch.
English undertakers are now refusing to bury the poor without a guarantee from their government that it'll foot the bill, reports London's "Daily Mail" tabloid.
The British government pays about 12-hundred dollars to cover a no-frills burial for the poor.
Funeral homes often front the money to hard-up families and then collect the money from the state.
The credit crunch has made that impossible, and poor families report having to wait two months or more before receiving their government check.
Hundreds of bodies remain in cold storage in the meantime.