Marc Jacobs Ends the Rumors
File this under “things that we already knew”… but here comes the official confirmation. Marc Jacobs actually did turn down the Dior job. Jacobs spoke to The Telegraph about his situation of replacing Galliano:
“It’s a great honour to be considered, and Mr Arnault is a super intelligent man and a very smart man and it was certainly a very great honour for him to know that I was capable – and not only capable but that I am someone that he would have wanted for the job,” Jacobs said. “But I am very happy to be here. There is so much more left to do and building Louis Vuitton into a fashion company is something nobody else can say they really started.”
Americans Back to Plastic Crack
US consumers’ love affair with credit, on the outs for several years, was rekindled in a major way last November, jumping by more than $20 billion in the month, the biggest climb in 10 years. Shoppers pumped up their use of credit card-like revolving debt by 8.5 percent — and total debt by 9.9 percent on an annual basis compared to the prior year. At the same time, the savings rate for Americans fell to 3.5 percent, the lowest since the recession began in 2007, according to the Federal Reserve.
Credit-card purchases in the lead up to the holidays and student loans represented the bulk of the $20.4 billion increase in debt from October. Consumers tapped their credit cards to the tune of $798.3 billion — about $5.6 billion more than consumers borrowed in October. Some analysts believe too much shouldn’t be read into the Fed’s borrowing data just yet.“We need to string together a few more consecutive months of increased borrowings,” said Scott Hoyt senior director of consumer economics at Moody’s Analytics.
Bad Week for Liz Clailborne
So changing the name probably won’t bring good news. Shares of Liz Claiborne tumbled more than 13 percent in after-market trades after the company cut its forecast for the year and announced that its Chief Financial Officer Andrew Warren is leaving Liz in March to become CFO of Discovery Communications which was confirmed by both companies yesterday. Also, its adjusted earnings for 2011 would hit the low end of its $80 million to $90 million forecast. So, what’s the good news?
Warren said in a statement he will “remain a long-term shareholder of [Liz] stock and will be rooting for the team as a former colleague and as an investor.” Warren “timed his departure after completing the most important phases of the turnaround” at Liz, according to CEO Bill McComb. The outgoing finance boss will stay until the company’s 10-K is complete.
– Taneisha Jordan
Source: NY Post, The Telegraph
Photo: WWD
