
HO CHI MINH CITY -- Now is usually the period when Phan Ngoc Anh gets some early holiday cheer as her sector, Vietnam's garment industry, fields shiploads of U.S. and European orders ahead of Christmas. But not this year.
Perennial demand before the year-end shopping season is drying up, with slowdowns in Western economies rippling across the Pacific to economies like Vietnam, a top source of clothes, electronics and other popular holiday gifts.