Sundry Mondry
Interesting: At high-end stores such as Neiman Marcus and Tiffany, shoppers are demonstrating confidence and spending with vigour. At the other end of the retail spectrum, consumers are cautious amid economic uncertainties, denting the earnings of groups such as Walmart. Awhile back (six months or more) I remember reading that Walmart was doing well because people were bargain shopping to cope with the recession. Meanwhile, foreclosures of million-dollar-plus homes are on the rise and Dollar Tree earnings are doing great (aside: few stock charts look better than the Tree's). Luxury stores up; luxury houses down. Walmart down; Dollar Tree up. Go ahead: Make sense of these economic times. * * * * * * * Every time I go into Dollar Tree, I walk out with fifteen things I hadn't planned on buying. The place is hell on the wallet, but man, the stuff is cheap. * * * * * * * A child pornographer gets nasty treatment in prison. It's shocking and disturbing and sad stuff, but I (being honest here) am having a hard time mustering a lot of sympathy. * * * * * * * Good stuff: Periodic Table of Wall Street Criminal Elements. * * * * * * * Related: “Wall Street Psycho:” 15 Signs of Moral & Ethical Pathology, Soul-Sickness. Sample:
8. Moral issues are PR glitches, violations of “don't get caught” rule
USAToday says 'Goldman Sachs should be celebrating. Yet, the mood at the investment bank seems to be one of crisis about the public backlash over employees' bonuses. So Goldman's on a PR blitz in a bid to undo the damage. They canceled their Christmas party. Also launched a $500 million program for small businesses. Get it? They can't see their moral failings, only a PR problem, so they hire PR agents and crisis managers first.
