Hello and welcome to the latest edition of The Neopian News Brief, your weekly source for all the recent stories coming from the land of Neopia.
 From the snowy peaks of Terror Mountain, to the sandy shores of Mystery Island, Neopians everywhere have been cowering in fear since the Gallery of Evil added three new agents of malice to their roster. This great Neopian nightmare began with Wednesday's arrival of Meuka and the Ghost Lupe. Carving a path through the countryside with his powerful jaws and razor-sharp teeth, Meuka is easily recognised by the slimy bright green mucus that covers him from head to tail. Despite his intimidating presence, the Ghost Lupe is not nearly as big a threat to your pets as Meuka--in fact, some say that he actually even HELPS pets... imagine that!
 On Thursday, these denizens of destruction were joined in the Gallery of Evil by none other than Commander Garoo. Garoo is best known as the primary architect of Dr. Sloth's invasion of The Lost Desert. Ever since the failure of that campaign, Garoo has remained in hiding, waiting for Sloth's order to resume hostilities. Garoo's recent addition to the gallery, combined with the one year anniversary of Tyrannia's liberation, has led many to speculate that conflict may be just around the corner...
 Keeping with the theme of frightful possibilities, if your love of mutants has been squashed by your pets' refusal to be transmogrified, then you can live vicariously by picking up a mutant plushie instead. This past Thursday, a handful mutant Kougra and Korbat plushies hit the shelves.
Given the prices that mutant plushies usually bring, chances are that these two will be nearly impossible to pick up in the Toy Shop. On the other hand, should you manage to get your hands on one, then it will most likely fetch a huge price when you sell it in your own shop.
 In other "high priced toy" news, the Hidden Tower has just released the greatly coveted Faerie Queen doll. However, as anyone who's shopped in the Hidden Tower can tell you, this is no place to look for a bargain. Before you go clearing out a place in your Usuki Dream Castle for the Faerie Queen, you might want to figure out how you're gonna come up with the TWO MILLION NP'S to pay for it first! That's an AWFUL lot of Kiko Match...
 Speaking of high priced and hard to find, on Thursday Kauvara unveiled a new batch of Tonu Morphing Potions. Now, if you have the means to acquire one of these potions, your pet can be turned into a Red, Yellow, Blue, Green or Purple Tonu. Just think--in no time flat, your pet will be rumbling about, goring the neighbours and destroying everything in sight. Good luck...
 It's now time to take a look at the latest financial headlines. After being impressed by the market's stability last week, a number of analysts who had predicted doom for the Neopian economy saw their prophesies come true this week, as the market fell a staggering fifty-nine points, all the way to 831. Leading the way among those posting losses was Kacheek Telecomm, whose value fell by more than sixty percent, coming into Friday's opening bell at eighteen points a share.
 Another big loser this week was Mynci Imports, whose value tumbled an incredible eleven points, finishing the week at a meager eight points a share. MYNC was one of five stocks whose share price fell below the dreaded 15 NP mark, bringing the total number of companies in limbo now to twenty seven. On the other hand, only one company managed to climb back over fifteen points. Breadmaster Bakeries' value climbed ten points, all the way to nineteen points a share, before trading began on Friday.
So then, with the Neopian economy mired in serious financial jeopardy, could this be the time to pick up a bargain? Or will things only continue to get worse? Only time will tell....
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