GOOD DAY FOR: Being boring, as most small community banks across the U.S. have survived the banking crisis with minimal or no losses, thanks to their unexciting, risk-averse business models. The community banks—which are much more numerous than the troubled national banks, but hold less than 10 percent of $13.8 trillion in U.S. bank assets—have mostly been affected by higher FDIC insurance and what they see as a smear on their industry. “If banking gets exciting, there is something wrong with it,” said Clay Ewing, an executive at German American Bancorp in Jasper, Ind. (The New York Times)
BAD DAY FOR: Subscription porn, after Playboy Enterprises Inc. reported a $13.7 million quarterly loss. Playboy blamed the red ink on reduced advertising revenue and the broader slowdown in consumer spending. The company is still looking for a new CEO, after Hugh Hefner’s daughter, Christie Hefner, stepped down earlier this year. (Reuters)
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