Although more people will be taking part in Halloween, the biggest non-gift giving holiday in the United States, this year than last, they will be economizing.The average spend is expected to be $53, down from $73 in 2010, according to the American Express Spending & Savings Tracker.Candy and decorations for parties and costumes will account for the biggest outlay, particularly among young professionals, who are expected to spend between $63 to $80 dressing up.”There is no doubt that consumers are watching their wallets. But we know that they are taking part in Halloween and I think it is because Halloween is an experiential holiday,” said Melanie Backs, manager of public affairs at American Express.About 41 million children, aged five to 14 years old, went trick-or-treating last year, U.S. Census Bureau data showed. But young and older children and adults also take part in the holiday which dates back thousands of years to Celtic rituals.”Halloween has evolved from being a one-night event mostly focused on kids trick-or-treating to a full season. We’re seeing candy and decorations on sale in late August,” said Backs.About 70 percent of U.S. consumers will spend an average of $28 on candy and decorations. And it wouldn’t be Halloween without a pumpkin, which will set back consumers about $18, according the American Express.”It (the pumpkin) is the second most important Halloween tradition for many people,” said Backs, adding that candy and decorations is first.NOT JUST FOR KIDSAlthough still primarily a children’s holiday, young adults are also getting into the spirit. Ghosts, goblins and witches are usually top selling costumes for children and adults, but searches on Yahoo.com revealed some unusual choices this year.Yahoo said actor Charlie Sheen, whose highly publicized departure from the hit TV series “Two and a Half Men” kept him in the headlines, was among the years’ most controversial costume searches.”I heard Charlie Sheen will be a favorite one this year,” said Backs. “There is also my personal favorite. I’ve been seeing Angry Bird costumes for both children and adults online,” said Backs, referring to the popular video game.The National Retail Federation predicts the top costume for young girls for the seventh consecutive year will be princesses, and thanks to the popularity of Johnny Depp’s portrayal of Captain Jack Sparrow, pirates for boys. Animal and bug costumes are also expected to be a hit.Las Vegas, New York and San Francisco are the favorite cities for people traveling on Halloween, according to American Express. But most people prefer to stay close to home and many will be visiting ghostly houses and spooky theme parks.The haunted attraction industry, which is worth approximately $6 billion and includes 2,500 attractions worldwide, is betting on a good year.”We’re hearing from haunted house attractions around the country that they are doing well,” said Patrick Konopelski, the president of the Haunted Attraction Association (HAA), which has haunts in every U.S. state.”What affects us more than the economy is the weather. When the weather is just right we do very, very well.”The midwest and northeast are the areas of the country where haunted attractions dominate. One of the most popular is Eastern State Penitentiary, which bills itself as a massive haunted house in a real prison that was abandoned 40 years ago.”People want to come out and have a good time — to be scared or watch their friends be scared. Usually right after the fear or the fear there is a lot of laughter,” said Konopelski.

The U.S. Defense Department is preparing to cut at least $350 billion from its previously projected spending through the next decade. Additional Pentagon cuts of up to $600 billion would kick in absent congressional passage by year’s end of at least $1.2 trillion more in deficit reduction over the same period. Last week, General David Petraeus, while retiring from the Army to become CIA director, warned against sacrificing U.S. military capabilities to ease the budget woes. How will the savings, if implemented, affect the level of national security? On the tenth anniversary of September 11 attacks how safe do you feel? At the Reuters Aerospace and Defense Summit in Washington DC from September 6 to 8 top executives from leading Pentagon suppliers and other experts in the sector will be interviewed by Reuters reporters on the expected cuts and more topics from cybersecurity to big-ticket arms programs such as the $382 billion-plus F-35 fighter aircraft, the Pentagon’s costliest purchase. Will the expected U.S. defense budget cuts jeopardize national security? Yes No View Results

By Akiko TakedaTOKYO, Oct 13 (Reuters) - Japanese government bond futures fell on Thursday as hopes for the euro zone pushed money into the stock market, but the day’s 30-year note auction went smoothly despite major disruptions to morning trade due to a technical glitch at a key interdealer.Japan Bond Trading Co (JBTC), the operator of country’s main broker-to-broker dealing system for cash bonds, said a glitch forced a halt to morning trading. It resumed operations at 12:25 p.m. (0325 GMT).The glitch prompted some hedge-selling in JGB futures. Volume climbed to more than 34,000 lots, the most since September 6.JBTC handles cash JGB interdealer activity for more than 200 brokers and banks. Its JGB market prices are used as de facto market benchmarks.Despite the glitch, the dominant theme for the day was an apparent greater willingness by investors to take on risk.”We need to gauge if the recent rebound in share prices is temporary one or if there is a real recovery in ‘risk-on’ sentiment… but fundamental problems in the euro zone debt situation still exist and given this, JGB players should still be willing to buy on dips for a month or so,” said Yusuke Ikawa, rate strategist at RBS.In Europe, Slovakian lawmakers reached a deal to ratify a plan to bolster the European Financial Stability Facility by Friday and German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she was certain of full ratification of the fund’s expansion by the Oct. 23 European Union summit.December 10-year JGB futures fell 0.24 point to 142.24, after marking their lowest level since Sept. 1 at 142.13 and breaking below the upper end of the Ichimoku cloud.In cash bonds, the 10-year JGB yield rose 2 basis points to 1.015 percent, the highest level since Oct. 3.The yield-curve bear-steepened as superlongs such as 20- and 30-year bonds underperformed. Both yields climbed by 3 basis points, with the 20-year yield rising to 1.730 percent and the 30-year yield up at 1.935 percent.But analysts said the auction results were better than expected despite JBTC’s system trouble.”There was a concern that the auction would proceed smoothly due to the technical problem, but it went fine, with a higher than expected lowest accepted price,” said Ikawa at RBS.$1 = 77.340 Japanese Yen)