Hello and welcome aboard for this week's edition of The Neopian News Brief, your weekly source for everything that's happening in the world of Neopia. We've got a lot of ground to cover, so let's get started...
 Our lead item this week is the long-awaited arrival of the "Champions of Meridell" plot. On Tuesday, the story began with the introduction of four young heroes, whose attempt to fend off schoolyard bullies seems strangely tied to the struggles of a heroic Lupe, who appears locked in a battle against evil. On Thursday, Lisha and her friends learned more about the mysterious Lupe (named Sir Borodere) while visiting a local museum. How is Borodere's story tied to theirs, and what does all of this have to do with the arrival of a new world? I guess we'll just have to wait and see...
 Although we're still awaiting the official discovery of Meridell, a number of activities from the new world have slowly begun to trickle out. One such arrival has been the debut of a game called Guess the Weight of the Marrow. For those who don't know, a marrow is like a really huge zucchini with a bunch of seeds in the middle. Anyhow, each day a new marrow is rolled out... and the first ten people to guess how much it weighs wins some really cool prizes. So what are you waiting for? Hurry over and give it a shot!
 Speaking of Meridell, I'm sure that by now everyone's seen those adorable little Ixi that have come from the new world. So far, though, it's been next to impossible to adopt one. However, thanks to the Toy Shop, you can have the next best thing... your very own Ixi plushie!
 Now, before your pets rush off to hide under the bed, you should point out that these aren't magical Ixi plushies... therefore, it's perfectly safe to play with them. Whew!
 Also making news this week is the release of four new collectible cards. No true NeoDeck would be complete without the addition of Deckswabber, Jhudora, Illusen the Earth Faerie and Cloud Aisha cards. Speaking of Cloud Aishas, don't forget that they're going on sale this weekend at Limited Too, so be sure to rush out and get yours...
 Another game that arrived this past week is Treasure of the Black Pawkeet. After a mutinous crew of hornswagglers swiped his gold, Cap'n Bloodhook returned to exact some revenge. Now, the secret of where his treasure lies buried has been revealed... it remains up to you to pick the right location and track down the gold!
 Speaking of exciting new games, Friday marked the debut of Gadgadsgame, a salute to the Mystery Island festival that introduces the arrival of delicious new fruits. Try to keep the fruits grouped in their respective clusters, then clear the board when the fruits with lit fuses come down.
 This Friday also marked the belated celebration of Peophin Day. All day long, Neopia's favourite aquatic equines were treated to a host of new goodies. Along with the usual retinue of books, baked goods, and Battledome weapons & moves, Peophin Day also led to the debut of two new looks (island and robot), as well as a special in the Art Gallery. Hooray for Peophins!
 Now, let's take a look at today's top stories from the floor of the exchange. After last week's 146 point tumble, many experts predicted the Neodaq would rebound again. After all, the economy had been on a turbulent "up one week, down the next" pattern for six weeks; surely, this time would be no different. However, the experts were wrong, as the Big Board followed last week's plummet with another equally disturbing 119 point loss.
 After breaking past the vaunted 200-point mark last week, BOOM! Boom Boxes succumbed to the law of averages, as their shares staggered to a sixty-seven point loss, falling all the way back to 152. However, despite this collapse, BOOM is still three times as valuable as the second highest stock (Lupe Consolidated, whose shares are currently worth fifty-two NPs each).
 Also troublesome is the plight of Dice-A-Roo Industries PLC. Two weeks ago, DROO was riding high at seventy-points a share; however, after declines of thirty-four and twenty-six points, the company has fallen all the way to twelve NPs a share, one of two companies falling below the dreaded 15 NP mark.
 However, there were a few companies who managed to turn a profit this week. One such company was the Theme Park Entertainers Guild, which not only rose eight points a share, but was also one of three companies which resumed trading. However, twenty-nine out of forty-six companies remain in limbo. So then, after back-to-back declines, is the market poised to slump further into recession, or should investors swoop in with hopes for a rebound? Only time will tell....
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