Hello and welcome to this week’s edition of The Neopian News Brief, your weekly summary of everything that’s going on in the world of Neopia.
 Our lead item this week is the arrival of the Shop Wizard Average, or SWA. Unhappy about the impact that inflation has had on sales, a number of Neopian shopkeepers have decided to start using the SWA as a way of adjusting their prices. Now, before placing an item on the shelves, shopkeepers like Kauvara and the Breadmaster can consult with the Shop Wizard first. If an item’s been selling for the wrong price, then a quick look at the SWA will tell them what it’s really worth. This will help Neopia’s shopkeepers to sell their items at a price that's much closer to true market value.
 Another arrival that’s got Neopia buzzing is the Battledome debut of the Highland Chia. While it might be hard to figure out what he’s saying sometimes, rest assured this is one challenger whose actions speak louder than words. Blasting foes with his mighty war hammer, the Highland Chia approaches in a whirlwind of fury. However, if this challenger’s got a weakness, it’s his lack of stamina. If you can manage to get through the first few rounds, then you should be able to hang on and win once he starts to run out of steam.
 With all the excitement surrounding NeoSchools, two more sets of school supplies have been released. Last Friday saw the debut of three new items (Green Backpacks, along with Red and Blue Chia Pencil Holders). According to the Shop Wizard, these items are currently going for between 7-10,000 NPs.
 On Tuesday, another Chia Pencil Holder was released (this time in blue), along with Rainbow Neopets Notebooks and the ultra-supercool Cheesy Rulers. Right now, the Blue Chia Pencil Holders are selling for around 20,000 NPs, while Rainbow Notebooks are going for somewhere in the neighbourhood of 70,000.
 As for the Cheesy Rulers… well, good luck finding one for less than 150,000 NPs. With more NeoSchool items on the way, the cost of these items is sure to drop in the coming weeks. So, you might want to hold off until the price is right.
 Also making news is this week’s arrival of the Robot Petpet Paint Brush. “Sweet!” you may be thinking, “I’ve got a map to the Secret Lab. Let’s go!” Heh, not so fast, there… the Lab Ray’s got nothing to do with these robots.
 Nope, if it’s a Robot Petpet Paint Brush that you’re after, then you’ll just have to get out there and earn it like everybody else. Right now, if your pet has a Snorkle, Uniocto, Angelpuss or Buzzer for a sidekick, then they can transform them into robots. However, I’m sure it won’t be long before some of the other Petpets get their turn.
 And now, it’s time to take a look at the day’s top stories from the world of finance. After almost a month of steady growth, it looks like the Neodaq has run into a bit of a... shall we say, correction. That’s right, after last week’s hundred point gain, this week saw the index fall a whopping ninety five points, all the way down to 844. Leading the way among the losers was the Neopian Bank, whose shares dropped an incredible twenty-five points. Apparently, with the economy on a roll, Neopians rushed to the bank and withdrew their savings, hoping to make some quick NP in the stock market. However, the strategy backfired, and the economy was left unstable by all the sudden withdrawals.
 Another company that continues to reel is BOOM! Boom Boxes, whose shares fell another fourteen NPs. Despite the predictions of their CEO, the company just hasn’t been the same since they peaked a little over a month ago, at one hundred and six points a share. On the other hand, one company that continues to roll is Dice-A-Roo, who followed last week’s twenty-six point gain with a modest eleven point climb.
And so, the question now is, will the market continue to reel? Or was this just a momentary setback, which will be long forgotten once the economy returns to form next week?
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