What the papers say

Journalist Fionola Meredith takes a look at what is making the headlines in Tuesday's morning papers.

Bad news for homeowners struggling to sell their houses in the News Letter - even with big prices slashes, they still aren't moving.

Tom McClelland of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors says that "negative news flow" is discouraging interest in the market. Worse still, he thinks that just as prices overshot on the way up, they could well overshoot on the way down.

It's the same story in the Irish News, which reports that in some areas house prices have dropped more than 5% in the last month alone.

Similar doom in the Irish Times with a report of further interest rate hikes in the Republic, but Fintan O'Toole, writing in the paper, is thinking about a different kind of inflation - the hyping-up of everyday language.

Slavery

He says that words like awesome, epic and iconic are now conferred as freely as air kisses at a fashion show, and, by way of example, he has a go at FIFA boss Sepp Blatter for claiming that there was "too much modern slavery in football today".

Using a word like slavery in the context of rich young men with lucrative contracts? Bad idea, as far as O'Toole is concerned, and he says that "if this misuse of language doesn't stop soon, we'll all be at it".

Meanwhile, the Belfast Telegraph reports that a major UK fashion retailer, with outlets across Northern Ireland, has been charged with misleading customers over the price of goods during its January sales.

More questions about retail practice in the Independent, which is hot on the trail of restaurant chains that pocket customers' tips in order to boost their own profits.

It claims that a series of legal ploys are being used by major companies to take a slice of the £4bn a year diners leave for low-paid staff in tips. In fact, the paper feels so strongly about it that it's starting a campaign for "just desserts" for exploited waiters.

But who can afford to eat out anyway, what with food bills rocketing?

The Daily Telegraph says that families are paying more than £1,100 more a year for their food than they were 12 months ago. At least the prime minister isn't jetting off on a big glossy foreign holiday - the paper approvingly notes that he will spend his summer hols at the seaside in north Suffolk.

Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, resplendent in gold cope and mitre, is pictured in the Guardian as he prepares to "face his tormentors", as the paper puts it.

Many are unsure whether Williams can handle the crises over women bishops and gay clergy that threaten to tear Anglicanism apart, says the paper. Beset by liberals, hounded by conservatives, he needs a miracle to keep the church intact.

Pets

And finally, the Guardian reports on one area of the economy that has escaped recession - pet care. But we're not talking about the odd tin of premium dog food, especially in the States.

It's estimated that American consumers spent £49bn on pet products and services last year, including ear cropping, liposuction, Botox, eyebrow correction, or a face peel.

But such excessive pampering isn't necessarily making the pets happy. That's why you can now get canine anti-depressants - a bit like Prozac, only they're chewy and taste like beef.