Good day, Bad day
Gilding the lily, The golden years
GOOD DAY FOR: Gilding the lily, after high-end retailer Neiman Marcus ignored the stock market collapse for its holiday gift guide, including such items as a $60,000 life-size Lego replica of you and your beloved, a $1 billion backyard golf course custom-designed by Jack Nicklaus, and a $250,000 “authentic” Guinness pub. The catalog is supposed to make people dream and smile, explained Ginger Reeder of Neiman Marcus Direct. “We’re not saying: ‘You’ve got to rush out and have yourself made in Legos.’” (Reuters)
BAD DAY FOR: The golden years, as stock market losses have wiped out about $2 trillion in U.S. retirement savings in the past 15 months, the Congressional Budget Office said. Pensions and 401(k)s—most Americans’ primary form of savings—have dropped about 20 percent, and that could force older workers to stay at their jobs longer than expected. (The Washington Post)
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