Gary Ralfe, managing director of De Beers, said in an interview, "We are looking at clear and objective criteria for remaining a sightholder" -- financial strength and, for the first time, marketing skills.
There are some unforgettable moments during my career development such as the first livestock purchase deal, preparing a budget for the first time, marketing and selling the livestock, making the first connection with other farmers, merchants, and butchers.
"That is direct evidence of how the credit crunch is disproportionately affecting the first-time market," he said.
With the overall PC market shifting towards more and more replacements, the netbook arrived at the right time to create a "first-time" market - of people buying a machine purely for its portability and/or battery life.
"Unless there's an active first-time market, the whole thing collapses like a bunch of dominoes," said Walt Molony, a spokesman for the National Association of Realtors, in Washington.
"In the last ten years, for the first time, the market has not been affected," he said.
Today, the first time the market could react to the news, Forth's shares have jumped 268p to £13.85.
Consumers bought fewer mobile phones last year than they did the year before, the first time the market has contracted.
For the first time in market history, three out of the four auction catalogs that dealt last week with the so-called "Islamic world" ran a Turkish work of art on the cover.
It wouldn't be the first time the market miscalculated.
He added that the overall fall in sales marked the first time the market had contracted since 2009.
