So is it a recession or what? Even those wealthy wads who drop piles of cash on Picassos and the like are feeling the pinch: The Wall Street Journal sees trouble ahead in the art world: "Sotheby's accounts receivable—the money owed by buyers who purchased art at auction—more than doubled to $835 million in 2007, according to Sotheby's annual report. That is the largest total in Sotheby's history."
Even CEOs are hurting! "Bold boards are killing practices long popular among big bosses, such as retention grants of restricted shares, generous exit rewards and "gross-ups" to cover the taxes that executives have to pay for certain benefits." Can you imagine? Also? A whole bunch of banks have lost, like, millions of dollars. Still, there's plenty of good news on the economic front: