Although it may come as no surprise to many people still struggling due to the economic situation, the demand for luxury goods continues to shrink. The iconic jewelry retailer has posted a dramatic drop in fiscal first-quarter earnings, which plunged 64 percent. Tiffany has blamed this drop in earnings on shrinking sales of the highest-prices goods.
The good news for Tiffany & Co. is that the decline in sales seems to be tapering off for the most part, except for the lack of interest in their high-end jewelry. Although sales are picking up comparatively quickly for Tiffany overseas, its American operations …read more

General Growth Properties (GGP), the nation’s second largest mall operator, warned of solvency issues yesterday. 
GGP is a real estate investment trust (REIT) which operates over 200 shopping centers from Hawaii to Maine.  The company has over $1.1 billion in debt coming due, the vast majority of it is payable within the next month.  Last month, GGP announced that it may sell assets in order to service its debt.
GGP operates one of my favorite malls, Tysons Galleria in northern Virginia.  Tysons is listed as one of General Growth’s Platinum Properties (the best of GGP) offering stores such as Tiffany, Neiman Marcus, Louis Vuitton, Versace, Saks …read more

Tiffany & Co. surprised the markets today with news of a sparkling second quarter.  The jeweler boasted an 11 rise in sales and the near doubling of profits.
Tiffany acknowledged that domestic sales are sluggish but expects a rebound in the fourth quarter.  International sales remained strong in Europe and parts of Asia.
Although analysts concur Tiffany’s pricey product line appeals to a more recession-proof set of shoppers, some expressed doubt regarding the company’s optimistic outlook for the holiday season.
But, investors dubbed Tiffany king (or queen) of bling for the day as the stock closed 11 percent higher.