Where are the rollbacks?

While the oil industry can never win the PR game, gas prices for the most part follow crude oil prices as the chart above shows (at least in the USA - in other countries, significant subsidies and taxes reduce that correlation). So, in all the other doom and gloom it is nice to see gas down below $ 3.00 a gallon.

Even better, most other food and other commodities are down substantially. So, where are the other price rollbacks? Like airlines which tacked on all kinds of fees in the last few months? Like products which either reduced sizes or tacked on large increases in the last few months?

And what about technology vendors? With the rupee down, Indian vendors should be rolling back prices. For years now, software vendors and outsourcers have been offshoring a bulk of their staff and not rolling back prices. Or consolidating and not rolling back their savings in SG&A. Other vendors are using open source components and automation to become leaner but not passing along savings.

Recessions may be tough on investors, vendors and workers, but they are generally good to buyers. Expect to see the Walmart smiley faces on many more products in the next few months.