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Overnight Briefing & General Reality Check
December 3, 2009
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Christmas gift-giving:
According to the American Express Spending & Saving Tracker:
--10% of consumers plan to spend more this year than last on holiday gifts
--43% about the same
--58% favor gift cards as the go-to present of the season
In terms of the largest and most expensive single purchase holiday buyers will make, consumers expect to spend the most on technology gifts (with an average gift costing $450) followed by gift cards (with an average gift costing $270).
Young professionals are more likely to give entertainment-related gifts such as movie or theatre tickets (38%) or experiential gifts (24%) vs. the general population (18% and 7% respectively). (Kaye)Watercooler:
Bloomberg reports Italian fashion houses such as Armani, Valentino and Ferragamo, that have never been online before are becoming e-tailers, because their usual affluent clientele is staying away from their fancy stores.
The report says younger, more Internet-savvy consumers and "luxury shame" is causing customers to shun boutiques and contributing to a boom in online fashion sales. "People feel guilty about going shopping," says PAOLA DURANTE, Bank of America /Merrill Lynch director of investment banking. (Kaye)
Yet still another woman has been linked the TIGER WOODS sex scandal. MSNBC.com's "The Scoop" gossip column says the third woman (so far) to be linked to the golfer is an employee at The Bank nightclub in Las Vegas --one of the golfer's favorite stomping grounds (#1 being NYC nightclub manager RACHEL UCHITEL?, and #2 being San Diego cocktail waitress, JAIMEE GRUBBS).
Meanwhile, JESPER PARNEVIK, the Swedish golfer who along with his wife, MIA, introduced ELIN NORDEGREN to Tiger, is speaking out about the affair. Elin was working for the Parneviks in 2000 as a nanny; she was first introduced to Woods at the 2001 British Open and they were married in 2004.
Jesper told the Golf Channel yesterday "I really feel sorry for Elin --since me and my wife were at fault for hooking her up with him. We probably thought he was a better guy than he is. I would probably need to apologize to her and hope she uses a driver next time instead of the 3-iron."Broadcast, cable and video news:
BARBARA WALTERS' upcoming "The 10 Most Fascinating People of 2009" special doesn't have MICHAEL JACKSON on it. He's dead, but arguably was one of the people we all talked about this past year. Instead, Barbara will interview Michael's kids, PARIS, PRINCE MICHAEL and PRINCE MICHAEL II (better known as "BLANKET").
Also on the Dec 09 special, former Alaska Governor and Vice Presidential candidate SARAH PALIN, Fox News talk show host GLENN BECK, Minnesota Vikings QB BRETT FAVRE, film maker TYLER PERRY, gay "American Idol" rocker ADAM LAMBERT, LADY GAGA, reality show mom KATE GOSSELIN (without estranged husband JON), and JENNY SANFORD, the wife of SC Gov MARK SANFORD, who moved out of the Governor's mansion with her four sons and back to Sullivan's Island following the revelation of his affair with a woman from Argentina when he was supposedly hiking the Appalachian Trail. The 10th person will (as usual) be announced on the show.Grace notes:
If you haven't seen it yet, get over to YouTube and check out THE MUPPETS doing QUEEN's "Bohemian Rhapsody." All of your favorites are in it including Gonzo, Animal and Beaker. YouTube says since the clip was first posted last week, it's been viewed more than 8.6-million times. The clip is also the first offering from The Muppets Studio on its own YouTube channel. (Marino)
Space, the Final Frontier:
Students across the U-S are helping astronauts perform an experiment.
Last month the Space Shuttle Atlantis carried four Painted Lady butterfly larvae to the International Space Station (ISS). All four have now emerged as full-fledged butterflies. American students have set up similar habitats designed to replicate the space experiment. Kids will compare the growth and behavior of their butterflies with those living in the microgravity environment of space.
Bioserve Space Technologies is behind the project. The company will post video of the space butterflies online and students are also able to upload their data on the company website and on YouTube.
FYI: If you're a teacher who wants in on the project, it's not too late. BioEd is offering a "Butterflies in Space" teacher's guide and instructions for creating the habitat. (Page) -
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