Indonesia's currency, the rupiah, has lost three-quarters of its value since last fall. Companies are technically bankrupt.
Layoffs loom, and the country is battling an economic and political crisis.
Cheap shopping, at least for the large foreign community, and for business travelers, tourists and journalists. The correspondents, photographers and television crews descended on Jakarta in the last few weeks to chronicle Indonesia's new Year Of Living Dangerously. What they found instead with the bargain-basement prices was something closer to the Month Of Living Comfortably. The shortest taxi ride is usually just 1,500 rupiah, or 15 cents. Foreign business travelers find Jakarta a joy for shopping.