Bloomberg’s Baby Problems: They Just Keep Popping OutFINANCE
• Another woman joined the federal discrimination lawsuit against Bloomberg LP. After her first child in 2005, her pay fell and her colleagues turned into sharks. One supervisor even asked, “What is this, your third baby?” [NYT]
• More of the same on the Street: Bank of America wrote down $3 billion, Bear Stearns $1.2 billion, and British bank HSBC took the cake with $3.4 billion, largely due to U.S. mortgage weaknesses. Meanwhile, Goldman CEO Lloyd Blankfein laughed in everyone’s face, predicting no more write-downs (not that they lost much in the first place) at the Teflon bank. [NYP, NYT, NYT, DealBreaker]
• Is the credit crunch just like Enron all over again? So says Bethany McLean, the reporter who first broke Ken Lay’s fraud wide open. [Fortune]
ask a retailer
Sari Sloane of Intermix Likes DVF, Matthew Williamson, Yigal Azrouël
Throughout the week, buyers from Bergdorf Goodman, Bird, Intermix, and Jeffrey New York will tell us which runway looks they plan to snatch up for fall. These are the first picks from Sari Sloane, VP of fashion merchandising at Intermix. She’s enjoying fall’s dark colors, and her favorites include Yigal Azrouel, Erin Fetherston, Diane von Furstenberg, and more.
Trans-Fat Express
Trans-Fat Haters Winning Hearts and MindsIn the fight against trans fats, bad publicity might just do for New York what a protracted legal battle could not. The city’s move to ban the deadly oils, which was rolling forward like a hungry man heading toward a bodega for chiccarones, seems to have been stopped in its tracks, or at least slowed, according this Crain’s story referenced in yesterday’s Morning Line. Part of the reason might be the prospect of a long and costly war with Ronald’s army, which we outlined earlier. But even without being regulated, companies are tripping over each other to abandon the good stuff. KFC took the hint weeks ago. Taco Bell just saw the light, and earlier this week, the Girl Scouts got on board the zero-trans-fats train. At this rate, they might not have to pass the law at all. Except for McDonald’s, of course.
new york fugging city
A Very Special Fug GirlsAfter eight days, 26 shows, and a handful of parties, we are reduced to a sputtering heap (not unlike that Zac Posen dress) on the floor of Newark Airport. Time to recall our favorite moments.