Friday, November 21, 2008

Hedging Against Stress

Over the years, 100 Women in Hedge Funds, a global association of more than 10,000 professional women, has sponsored various events for its members. Their aim is to “make a difference in our industry and community with unique educational programming, professional leverage initiatives and philanthropy.”


In the recent past they have invited members to events like:

Best Practices for Hedge Funds in an Ever-Changing Regulatory Environment


Women and Powerful Conversations: How to Negotiate Your Career, Expand Your Role and Increase Your Compensation

Oil Prices and Global Financial Mark

Distressed Debt Investing: Finding Opportunities after the Subprime Debacle

It is another telling sign of how things are now that the next event is:

Managing Stress and Living Well amid the Financial Crisis
Can meditation really make a difference in managing stress?

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Lessons not Learned

If the economy is the Titanic, just how many lifeboats are there, and just who gets saved? And who decides?

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Shopping and Spending.....Less

Bloomberg.com recently published a timely article with the title U.S. Luxury Retailers Face Grimmest Holiday Season:

“Luxury retailers may suffer the industry's biggest reversal of fortune during the holidays as the global financial crisis dents the wealth of the richest Americans…For five years luxury retailers outpaced low-priced chains. The projected drop this year would be the group's first since 2002, the year the ICSC [International Council of Shopping Centers trade group] began keeping the records.
Among the sectors, discounters may see the biggest improvement this holiday season, more than doubling their gain in sales at stores open at least a year to 2.5 percent from 1.1 percent a year earlier, the group estimated.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=aL0rwl_zsfWk&refer=home

And indeed, retailers like Target and Walmart seem to understand that is they are going to get anyone to buy anything this holiday season, so consumers have to think they are being virtuously thrifty while doing it. Notice the television ads for discounters Walmart and Targer, and Kmart—Layaway—who thought that would make a comeback?