stocks

Will Bankers Really Trade Stock For Food?

Filed under: Dining

Steak for stakes? New york steakhouse Smith & Wollensky has created a unique promotion to capitalize on a bankers' bonus season that is seeing less cash and more shares handed out. The steakhouse chain took out a full-page ad today in the New York Times business section offering to trade steak dinners for diner's stock certificates. Reuters reports that while around 50 bankers have inquired no one has redeemed their stock certificates for steaks yet. In order to get your meal you have to show up with the original stock certificates in hand. The value of the shares will be based priced on the day's closing price (for lunch, the day before's price is used). There's no such thing as a free lunch, the registered owner of the stock must surrender it to Smith & Wollensky which will add the shares to its own portfolio.

Whether or not it results in a lot of free steaks it's a neat publicity turn for the steakhouse. The witty ad took a tone of faux concern cataloging the effect of bankers receiving shares instead of cash bonuses. The ad bemoans steak and lobster left uneaten and promises they'll even take GM stock (although at less than a dollar a share, be prepared to bring quite a few shares). Although Smith & Wollensky has restaurants around the U.S.the offer is only available at the New York restaurant on Third Avenue. Smith & Wollensky has said it will accept certificates for any New York Stock Exchange or Nasdaq-listed stock. The restaurant is where Warren Buffett holds his annual auctioned-off lunch. I wonder if this is how he's planning to pay.

Tags: smith and wollensky, SmithAndWollensky, steak dinner, steaks for stakes, stocks

LVMH Profits Slip

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

LVHM released their most recent numbers on Monday, a little ahead of schedule, showing that first-half net profit for the luxury good retailer fell 23 percent. LVMH products span a wide range in the luxury market and different groups within the company have had differing results. Watches and jewelry were particularly hard hit reporting that profit from recurring operations fell 73 percent. Better but still slumping was the wine and spirits division with a 41 percent slip. Fashion and leather goods were a bright spot with a seven percent increase in profit from recurring operations.

LVMH posted a net profit of 687 million euros in the six months through June, which is down from 891 million euros a year earlier. As you might expect the economy has been cited as a reason for the decline but the company also said that heavy destocking by its third-party distributors in the wine and spirits and jewelry and watches businesses played a role in the decline.

The company predicts that it will continue to gain market share even in a shrinking market. Businessweek has a quote from Bernard Arnault, chairman and CEO of LVMH, shown at right who said that the results were "particularly remarkable given the global economic crisis" and that LVMH is approaching the second half of the year "with confidence."

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Tags: bernard arnault, BernardArnault, lvmh, profits, stocks

Hermes Stock Prices Ripe For A Tumble?

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wealth

Even as the luxury market started to fall apart in the second half of this year, French luxury brand Hermes remained strong, almost freakishly so. While other luxury groups such as LVMH and PPR began to lag, the share price for Hermes is up 16.7% over the past year. But Forbes predicts that the company's currently level of profitability is not sustainable and that shares will start to fall next year. Most of the stock is held by the controlling family with approximately 30% freely traded. Rumors that Hermes will be sold have also boosted stock prices at various points although denials have always been speedily issued. The stock is still up so this is a good time to collect gains and perhaps move on. In the Forbes article John Guy, an analyst with MF Global picks Burberry as a smart bet for the future.

At least the right Hermes bag is still a good investment...

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Tags: hermes, investing, money, stocks

The Fabulous Lives of "Googlaires"

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

There are different breeds of millionaire in the world, and one of the latest to develop is the "Googlaire." It refers to that exclusive group of people (estimated at around a few hundred) that have come into money and new lifestyles as a result of striking gold with Google stock options. And although some are obviously blowing their money frivolously and will soon have dwindled it down, there are many who are finding a nice balance between fun (buying dream homes and dream cars) and responsibility (investing the money for the future and starting businesses).

Good to know the Google founders, with their fleet of over-sized private jets and countless other amenities, aren't the only ones getting rich!

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Tags: googlaire, googlaires, google, googleaire, googleaires, luxury, money, rich, stock options, StockOptions, stocks, wealth, wealthy