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Feds Seek to Seize Ruth Madoff's Assets
Tweet Share on Facebook March 16, 2009 Comment (3)Federal prosecutors want disgraced financier Bernard Madoff and his wife to forfeit more than $90 million worth of assets, including homes, boats, cars, and securities. A filing in a U.S. district court in New York on Sunday outlined several fixed and liquid assets ordered seized by prosecutors:
- $17 million in cash
- $45 million in municipal bonds at Cohmad Securities Corp.
- $2.6 million in jewelry
- $39,000 Steinway piano
- $65,000 in silverware
- $11 million home in Palm Beach, Fla.
- $7 million Upper East Side penthouse apartment
- $3 million home in Montauk, N.Y.
- $1 million villa in Cap d'Antibes in southeastern France
- $10 million for three boats
- $7 million Leopard yacht
- $2.2 million fishing boat in Florida
- Four cars, including a BMW and two Mercedes
With the exception of the Long Island home, all of the properties—as well as the cash and securities—are solely in Ruth Madoff's name.
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Dockers Unveils Shakable iPhone Ad
Tweet Share on Facebook March 12, 2009 Comment (1)Everyone talks about the iPhone's ridiculously cool applications—iBlackjack, Merriam-Webster search, Tic-Tac-Toe Squirrels vs. Chipmunks!—but now there's a new marketing experience that's sure to be the latest iPhone craze. Using the phone's popular motion-detection feature, apparel maker Dockers San Francisco believes it has created the first "shakable," motion-sensitive ad.
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Neiman Marcus Posts Quarterly Loss
Tweet Share on Facebook March 11, 2009 CommentLuxury retailer Neiman Marcus posted a net loss of $509.2 million for the 13 weeks that ended January 31—compared with a profit of $44.3 million in the same period last year—reflecting a holiday season when some of the wealthiest consumers reined in spending.
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Travel + Leisure Golf Folds
Tweet Share on Facebook March 10, 2009 Comment (1)Travel + Leisure Golf has found itself in a sand trap. American Express Publishing has decided to shut down the print edition of the 11-year-old magazine, which features articles on golf destinations, celebrity profiles, and golf deals. The magazine's advertising pages were down 13.9 percent in 2008, according to the Publishers Information Bureau.
"While the award-winning editorial product has enjoyed a loyal and passionate following, the current advertising climate has severely impacted the magazine's bottom line to where the short-term and mid-term prospects for the magazine are not viable," President and CEO Ed Kelly said in a statement. Travel + Leisure Golf will close with the March/April issue.
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Yelp Controversy: Online Rating System in Question
Tweet Share on Facebook March 9, 2009 Comment (18)Yelp is one of my favorite user review websites. Because it attracts thousands of aficionados of food and drink, I find it especially useful when I'm thirsty for a new restaurant in my area. Contributing users often write thoughtful, prolific reviews about a wide range of local businesses, from hairstylists to mechanics. And it's growing at a brisk pace: Yelp, founded in 2004, had 6.8 million unique visits in January, up from 3 million uniques a year earlier, according to comScore. Its two main competitors, Yahoo Local and CitySearch, boasted twice as many uniques but grew at a much slower rate.
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ABC Finds Humor in Wall Street's Collapse
Tweet Share on Facebook March 6, 2009 Comment (1)New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg sent a grim message earlier this year when he said that 46,000 financial workers might lose their jobs and that Wall Street's losses could total $60 billion to $70 billion by the second quarter of 2010. Adding insult to injury, brokers and bankers are increasingly fleeing the Big Apple and relocating their families and talent to areas such as Virginia, Chicago, and even Asia. This is no laughing matter, of course, but the ABC television network hopes that two new comedy pilots about Wall Street will get Americans to think otherwise.
One untitled pilot stars Kelsey Grammer, who plays a Wall Street millionaire toppled by the financial meltdown. He'll have to start caring for a family that he rarely spent time with during his high-powered career.
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Luxury Blog Roundup
Tweet Share on Facebook March 5, 2009 CommentHere's what's happening in the world of luxury blogs:
Fiat Centro Stile and Mattel have joined forces to offer a new Fiat 500 model dedicated to Barbie, which celebrates the iconic fashion doll's 50th birthday. Beware of the shockingly bright pink color. [Luxuo]
Tennis great Lindsey Davenport is selling her Southern California estate for a mere$5.5 million. The Ventura home overlooks the ocean and has 2,000 square feet of living space—plus tennis courts, natch. [Blavish]
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M Resort Opens in Vegas
Tweet Share on Facebook March 4, 2009 Comment (2)The chips have been down this year for Las Vegas casinos: fewer visitors, shorter trips, and less gambling. Hotels are struggling to fill rooms and restaurants. But despite the sinking economy, Las Vegas officially welcomed the M Resort, Spa, and Casino, which opened on schedule earlier this week.
The key to survival in a tough economic environment, says Anthony Marnell, CEO and chairman of the $1.8 billion resort, is offering outstanding customer service and lower room rates. A resort room with a mountain view will go for $54, while a 1,440-square-foot suite runs $354. Suites with views of the strip will begin at $74.
The M Resort, in Henderson about 10 miles south of the Las Vegas resort corridor, is expected to draw traffic from locals and people driving in from California. The resort has 390 guest rooms and 39 suites, nine restaurants, five destination bars, and more than 60,000 square feet of meeting and conference space. Gamblers get over 92,000 square feet of gaming, with 1,800 slots and video poker machines, 64 gaming tables, a 12-table poker room, and a race and sports book.
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Apple's iPhone: Bust in Japan
Tweet Share on Facebook March 3, 2009 Comment (14)Considering they have pioneered the color television, VCRs, a car that runs 100 percent on water, and mini-me robots, it's no surprise that Apple's iPhone is just too prosaic for the Japanese. In fact, the iPhone is such a failure, it's practically being given away.
According to Wired , Japanese carrier SoftBank this week launched the "iPhone for Everybody" campaign: Consumers receive an 8-GB model of the iPhone 3G in exchange for agreeing to a two-year contract.
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Top 50 Most Admired Companies
Tweet Share on Facebook March 2, 2009 Comment (1)Fortune magazine released their annual list of the world's most admired companies. To create the list, global management consulting firm Hay Group asked 4,047 executives, directors, and securities analysts who had responded to industry surveys to select the 10 companies they admired most. The list includes companies that finished in the top 20% of their industry, as well as those that ranked in the top 25% in last year's surveys.
