Show business struggling to find business
The global economic crisis is having its impact on the world of show biz. With people losing their jobs they barely have enough to make ends meet. Those people that would ordinary be watching broad way shows in theatres are now worrying about a gloomy looking tomorrow.
Jamison Scott, a Broadway performer says regarding his performance in the Broadway classic “Grease” “Originally the producers said they wanted it to run at least five years.” Much to their dismay the production was only performed for a year and a half and then had to be shut down.
Grease is not the only show that has been shut down short of expectations. It joins a list of nine other would-be have-been popular shows that were shut down last Sunday. Four more are likely to be shut down this week. Amongst the shows that have shut down, some have been initiated by the producers themselves so as to prevent future losses. Others have been forced to shut down while the producers had no such intentions.
Scott explained “And they just said ‘due to the economic crisis, we’re not seeing a lot of future ticket sales and we’re going to be ending the show.” Generally though, the post New Year’s season sees a slight slump in business but at difficult times like these not many people would want to pay a hundred dollars or more for a good sear in the theatre. Hence the show cannot go on.
Patti Lupone, the leading star of the classic Broadway “Gypsy” said “What would you spend $130 on? A tank of gas? Food? Or a Broadway show that you don’t know whether you’re going to enjoy or not.” Lupone has even secured a Tony Award for her performance in the “Gypsy.” In an interview she said “I mean I’m out of work next week.” The show will be shutting down two months earlier than it was scheduled for.
Every show has its own costs but the prices of everything are sky rocketing. In 1975 producers had to incur a $1 million cost to open “A Chorus Line” at the Broadway. When the same show was put up last year it cost the producers $8 million. With the expenses mounting up and the money running short show business is finding it hard to run as a sustainable business.
Feelings of shame not material losses cause of prominent suicides
The German Billionaire Aolf Merckle was one amongst a number of prominent figures that committed suicide in the wake of the global economic crisis. While the world believes that it was the big financial losses that caused the individuals to commit the act, medical health experts say it was deep feelings of shame and not the material losses that triggered the individuals to commit suicide.
Merckle had lost millions of dollars during the global financial crisis and killed himself by jumping in front of a speeding train on Monday. His death serves to lengthen the list of high profile investors committing suicide.
A professor of economic psychology at Berlin’s Free University Detlev Liepmann says “An industrialist losing a fortune on the stock market has different motives for killing himself than a father with six children who loses his job.” Liepmann further commented “Merckle’s livelihood was certainly not threatened by his risky investments but he was threatened by shame, a loss of face in society and a loss of honor.” Merckle was ranked as the fifth richest man of Germany.
Before him to go was the Frenchman Thierry Magon de la Villehuchet who was found dead on hiss office desk after having slit his wrists. The money manager had lost up to $1.4 billion of his client’s money in the Madoff scandal.
A psychotherapist in Frankfurt’s banking quarter, Gerrit Grahl said “People like Merckle may be highly motivated but also highly sensitive.” He treats more than four hundred patients each year and believes that bankers and managers are now topping the list,
Gerrit said “It’s unfortunate he killed himself because he could have been treated. Many other people in the same spot would say ‘to hell with it’. They’d look to save their own tail and wouldn’t think of killing themselves no matter what happens.”
The World Health Organization has also expressed its concerns over the dilemma caused to people as a result of the global economic crisis. The organization warned that the world could witness an increase in mental illness and suicides.
The director general of WHO, Margaret Chan said “There is clear evidence that suicide is linked to financial disasters, I am not talking about the millionaire jumping out of the window but about poor people.”
Russia-Ukraine gas dispute flares up as Europe bears the impact
The recent disputes between Russia and Ukraine over the supply of natural gas flared up this Tuesday. Ukraine lashed out at Russia saying that it had cut the supply of natural gas to Europe. Nine countries reported having their gas supplies cut off or reduced by Russia.
The Russian energy Giant Gazprom has cut three of four of its export pipelines. These are the pipelines through which Europe receives its gas supplies and hence such an act has had a significant impact on a number of nations.
Gazprom places the blame on Ukraine for giving rise to the current situation. The deputy chief of Gazprom, Alexander Medvedex said “Ukraine is in obvious breach of obligations as a transit country.”
Following the reduction of gas supply at least nine countries reported to be experiencing a shortage in their gas supply through the Ukraine channel. The countries that have been impacted include Austria, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Romania and Turkey. These nations however did not blame either side for the problem but expressed their concerns for the issue.
Ukraine has been receiving natural gas from Russia for many years but this latest twist in their dealings is becoming grimmer by the day. Ukraine’s natural gas supply was cut off last week when the country failed to meet the dead line for past payment. Ukraine on the other hand has denied that it owes the money that Russia is demanding. At the moment Ukraine is being able to meet its needs due to supplies decked up in the storage facilities.
A meeting between the two countries has been scheduled for Thursday where they will discuss the issue at hand. Gazprom has stated that it will be filing suit against Ukraine accusing the country of siphoning gas from the export pipelines.
The Romanian and Bulgarian Ministry of Economy and Energy have reported that their countries have experienced a 75% reduction in gas supply as a direct result of the dispute. Turkey is one of the nations that has been severely impacted by the dispute as the supply of gas that reached it through Ukraine has been completely cut off. A number of countries have over 50% percent of their gas supply cut off due to the Russian blockade whereas some nations like Greece and Turkey are not receiving any gas at all.
IndyMac being sold to private equity firms
IndyMac Bancorp is one of the biggest banks that have come crashing down due to the subprime mortgage crisis. Now it is all set to be sold off to a consortium consisting of private equity and hedge fund firms. 
Federal regulators had declared the bank as being insolvent back in July which followed by a takeover of the company. A team of former Lehman Brothers bankers that are currently working with Deutsche Bank along with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation have been looking to strike a deal ever since then. The two parties have finally come to a settlement and the official announcement of the sale could be made on Monday.
When IndyMac came crashing down it was recorded as being the second largest failure in the history of FDIC. Their record was however soon broken when bigger institutions the likes of Washington Mutual and Wachovia also came crashing down.
The team of buyers that will be gaining control over IndyMac include different private equity firms such as Dun Capital Management, J.C Flowers & Company and Paulson & Company.
This deal that involves a group of unregulated private equity firms taking over a bank holding company is the first of its kind. Although private equity firms have come to the rescue of the many failing banks federal regulators are now backing off due to the regulatory concerns that arise out of such a situation.
September saw the Federal Reserve easing the regulations that made it possible for private equity firms and hedge firms to take over portions of bank holding companies. They would not be subject to any undue regulation if they did so. The latest deal that involves the selling of IndyMac includes all of its 22 branches, $176 loan servicing portfolio and reverse mortgage unit.
The deal works out as a coup for Dune Captial which was founded by ex-Goldman Sachs partners Daniel Niedich and Steven Mnuchin in 2004. They are joined with other partners in this cheap deal for a big bank.
The announcement of the failure of Indymac saw around 130 F.D.I.C employees rush to the rescue of the bank in an attempt to get it to open up under government supervision. Tight capital markets however caused further losses on mortgages that the bank was unable to sell and the defaults continued to mount. Panicked consumers ended up withdrawing over $1.3 billion deposits in less than 11 business days leading to the crash of the institution.
Madoff Investor commits suicide
Madoff has cost many investors around the world millions of dollars by running a grand level scam. For Rene Thrierry Magon however the scam cost him his life. The investor who had lost $1.4 billion dollars at the hands of Madoff was found dead in his office on Dec 23 2008. The founder of the de la Villehechet fund had slit both his wrists and committed suicide losing all reason to live.
This has marked a grim turn in the global scandal that has brought some of the biggest and richest people on their knees. The body of Rene Thierry was found in office about 8am. The investor had slit both his wrists using a box cutter after popping some sleeping pills to numb the pain. He left without writing a suicide note.
The investor was one of the severely hit individuals in the $50 billion scam. Other investment funds that had failed to protect their clients from the fraud are also being targeted by investor lawsuits and facing an even more tough time.
It is for sure that de la Villehuchet must have been facing a certain amount of scrutiny over the losses he had incurred in the scam. The nature of the scrutiny however has not been disclosed. On Monday night the investor reportedly told the cleaning crew of his office to leave by 7pm as he intended on working till late. The next morning the cleaning workers returned to the office only to find the door of his office locked from the inside. After managing to break through the door the police discovered Rene’s dead body at his desk with the box that he used to slit his wrist lying next to him on the floor.
The now dead prominent investor belonged to a long line of aristocratic Frenchmen. He had a lineage coming down from one of the most powerful French families. The investor has left behind a widow and no children.