8:55 a.m.
George Clooney is transmogrifying into Billy Joel:
And we all know where that leads . . .
9:08 a.m.
Bernanke Says Fed Will Do What’s Needed
“It is not the responsibility of the Federal Reserve — nor would it be appropriate — to protect lenders and investors from the consequences of their financial decisions,” Bernanke said. “But developments in financial markets can have broad economic effects felt by many outside the markets, and the Federal Reserve must take those effects into account when determining policy.”
And while it may not be “the responsibility” of the Federal Reserve, it will probably end up being in “the self-interest” of the Federal Reserve to protect people from their own bad decisions — you know, so the guys running everything don’t lose the entire worth of their individual portfolios, or off-shore accounts, or family trusts, or . . .
I mean, why else do you think we have Senators standing up in Congress and screeching about monetary policy? It’s not like they know anything about monetary policy, they just know their stocks and real-estate investments are losing value.
3:23 p.m.
Who cares about a subprime meltdown? Now get out of my way — you’re blocking the canvas logo bags!
PPR profit soars as luxury divisions drive growth
“French luxury-goods group PPR said Friday its profit more than doubled in the first half of 2007 thanks to a stronger performance from its Bottega Veneta and Yves Saint Laurent brands and the acquisition of a majority stake in sportswear group Puma . . . The group’s biggest luxury brand, Gucci, saw profit rise 6.6% to 284 million euros . . . PPR is repositioning its Gucci brand towards the higher end of the market in Japan, and expects the move to bear fruit in the second half of the year, said Societe Generale analyst Nathalie Longuet in a note to clients. ‘We can assume that the positive momentum in terms of earnings in the luxury goods division can continue,’ Longuet said.”
Even in times of financial turmoil, you still have to make a good first impression.
