Reuters reports that supermarket mogul Ron Burkle and his investment company, Yucaipa, have bought up a large amount of Barney's debt. Dubai World owned Istithmar paid $942.3 million for Barney's in 2007 but the luxury retailer has been struggling since then. A Wall Street Journalarticle says Baryney's is exploring a possible restructuring.
Barneys took on debts of about $500 million to fund the purchase. Since then, economic woes have crimped Barneys' sales, and it has been without a CEO for the past 18 months.
Istithmar now is exploring a possible Barneys restructuring, with the retailer tapping investment bank Perella Weinberg Partners to advise it. One approach typically taken in such situations is to wipe out company equity, while delivering control to debtholders.
Hedge-fund manager Richard Perry is expected to be the key player in any negotiations; his hedge fund holds a controlling position in Barneys' senior debt. "There are conversations, but no process," said one person familiar with the matter, adding not to "expect anything imminent."
One analysts cited in the Wall Street Journal story doesn't think Barney's will need to restructure its debt. The retailer could pull out if the luxury market starts to recover in 2010 but there are still a lot of doubts about how well the economy is going to do in the next couple years.
Actress and singer Demi Lovato is the latest milk-drinking celebrity to join the "Body By Milk" campaign. The campaign from the Milk Processor Education Program encourages teens to "drink three glasses of lowfat or fat free milk every day, eat right and get active to stay lean and healthy."
At the taping of her live show today Oprah Winfrey announced that she is ending her show in 2011. Fans said she was very emotional as she told the audience about her decision. Here's what she said:
After much prayer and months of careful thought, I have decided that next season, Season 25, will be the last season of The Oprah Winfrey Show.
Over the next couple of days, you may hear a lot of speculation in the press about why I am making this decision now...and that will mostly be conjecture.
So I wanted you to hear this directly from me.
Twenty-four years ago, on September 8, 1986, I went live from Chicago to launch the first national Oprah Winfrey Show. I was beyond excited...and as you all might expect, a little nervous. I knew then what a miraculous opportunity I had been given, but I certainly never could have imagined the "yellow brick road" of blessings that have led me to this moment with you.
These years with you, our viewers, have enriched my life beyond all measure. And you all have graciously invited me into your living rooms, into your kitchens and into your lives. And for some of you longtime Oprah viewers, you have literally "grown up" with me—we've grown together. You had your families, and you raised your children and you left a spot for me in your morning or your afternoon, depending on when The Oprah Show airs in your town.
So I just wanted to say that whether you've been here with me from the beginning or you came on board last week, I want you all to know that my relationship with you is one that I hold very dear. And your trust in me, the sharing of your precious time every day with me has brought me the greatest joy I have ever known.
So here we are, halfway through the season, 24, and it still means as much to me to spend an hour every day with you as it did back in 1986. So why walk away and make next season the last?
Here is the real reason: I love this show. This show has been my life. And I love it enough to know when it's time to say good-bye.
Twenty-five years feels right in my bones and it feels right in my spirit. It's the perfect number—the exact right time. So I hope that you will take this 18-month ride with me right through to the final show.
Over this holiday break, my team and I will be brainstorming new ways that we can entertain you and inform you and uplift you when we return here in January. And then Season 25—we are going to knock your socks off.
So, the countdown to the end of The Oprah Winfrey Show starts now and until that day in 2011 when it ends, I intend to soak up every meaningful, joy-filled moment with you.
In this video clip, fans who were in the audience for the announcement talk about how Oprah seemed at the taping and what they think about her plans. Take a look:
Black Friday is just a week away and many of the deals are appearing online. Some stores are opening as early as midnight to shoppers. Walmart is opening its doors at midnight to avoid a repeat of last year's Black Friday death. Here are some highlights of some of the offerings so far.
Black Friday Ads Chart: You can find links to the Black Friday ads in this handy chart on our sister site, shoppersshop.com.
Disney opens it stores at midnight. From midnight until 10 a.m. customers can get 20% off all items, including already discounted merchandise.
CNN's Clark Howard says shopping online is a more efficient use of your time.
The Christian Science Monitorsays retailers hope for wintry weather on Black Friday because it reminds people of the holidays. However, if it is too cold or really rainy or both it could make people not want to stand outside in a line.
Zac Efron takes readers' questions for Time magazine. He talks about his new movie, Me and Orson Welles, whose career he'd like to emulate, you know, the standard stuff. But then it gets really interesting and Zac gives his never before revealed tips on how to get that perfectly mussed up hairdo he -- and Robert Pattinson, now that we think of it -- wears. Zac's secret is to wash his hair before going to bed at night, then sleep on it. In the morning, it's already messy. He just adds hair product (he didn't say which one, but it's probably a gel), comb and muss it up more. Voila! Perfectly mussed up hair. Take a look:
Here is a look inside Royal Caribbean's enormous cruise ship, Oasis of the Seas. The giant ship arrived in Port Everglades, Florida last week. The ship is five times the Titantic. It has five different themed areas, 2700 cabins, 16 decks and cost $1.5 billion to make. Take a look:
CNN has an article here that discusses some of Black Friday's "dirty little secrets." CNN writes that retailers may only have limited quantities of the doorbusters they list in Black Friday circulars. Another issue is that some of the electronics doorbusters may lack features. Some doorbuster items are even specially made for Black Friday.
CNN/Money reports that some of the Sears doorbusters are available in limited quantities.
Sears (SHLD, Fortune 500) has not officially revealed its Black Friday sales. However, the company confirmed to CNNMoney.com that two of its post-Thanksgiving deals include a Samsung 40-inch 1080p LCD HDTV for $599.99, "Only while quantities last, minimum three per store, no rainchecks."
The other is a Kenmore 3.5-cubic-foot high-efficiency washer and 5.8-cubic foot dryer pair for $579.98, "Limit four per store, no rainchecks."
"Sure, you probably have more, but how do you put out a circular to millions of households and only have three?," Dworsky asked.
Most shoppers are aware there are limited quantities which is why there are people lining up early outside.
Another issue mentioned in the article are some doorbuster electronics sold on Black Friday that lack features. These are known as derivatives.
The difference can be subtle. "The image contrast ratio might be 20,000 in a derivative model versus 30,000 in a standard model," he said. "Most consumers probably won't even notice the difference."
A report earlier this month in Consumer Reports called attention to HDTV models from Samsung and Sony advertised in Black Friday deals that appear to be "derivatives." The report said these one-off TVs "with unfamiliar model numbers" are usually cheaper than the standard model in their class.
Some may not mind if they buy a tv or blu-ray player is a derivative if the price is great but the CNN/Money article says retailers don't always advertise that the product is a derivative. This is unfair to consumers who might think they are buying something better than they are. A couple other Black Friday shopping woes mentioned in the article are online deals that never get shipped and in-store rainchecks that turn out to be an empty promise. The main issue consumers should watch out for are the limited amounts of doorbuster items and the derivative electronics.
Hermes has partnered with Leica, a German camera manufacturer, for the Leica M7 Edition Hermes camera. The $14,000 camera comes in orange or green "Veau Swift" leather. Wiredsays these are for collectors and shouldn't be removed from the box.
Make no mistake — these are collector’s cameras, and should never be removed from the box. As such they are labeled with a serial number between one and two hundred.
The Leica M7 Edition Hermes camera will be available next month. Leica's M8 white edition is also an attractive camera.
Analysts say that the housing market has not recovered yet and that it will be next year before any improvement is seen.
The outlook for the home market dimmed this week as residential construction and mortgage applications fell and loan delinquencies reached a record.
"I don't think the housing crisis is over," Mark Zandi, chief economist with Moody's Economy.com, said in a telephone interview. "I think we’re going to see another leg down."
New home sales may begin to pick up by the start of the so-called spring selling season, said Toll Brothers Inc., the largest U.S. luxury homebuilder. Existing house sales may take longer. Residential construction and property sales led the way out of the previous seven recessions going back to 1960, said David Berson, chief economist of PMI Group, the mortgage insurer in Walnut Creek, California.
Mortgage applications for home purchases fell to a 12-year low last week and foreclosures rose to record highs in the third quarter, according to reports from the Mortgage Bankers Association.
An index measuring November homebuilder confidence came in lower than the median forecast of 45 economists this week. The Commerce Department on Nov. 18 said residential building dropped 11 percent in October to the lowest level since April’s all-time bottom.
Unemployment is at a 26 year high, which is driving more homeowners into foreclosure and keeping new mortgage applications low. The U.S. has lost
7.3 million jobs since December 2007. That is a record number not seen since the Great Depression.
Zhu Zhu Pets Hamsters continue to be the hot toy this holiday season. They are sold out in most stores. Toys R Us promises to have a limited supply of Zhu Zhu hamsters and is even using them to entice shoppers into its stores on Black Friday. Anthony Mason reports for CBS News on the hot toy. He visited Cepia, the small company that makes the robotic hamster toy. Cepia has added three more factories in China to try and keep up with demand. Take a look:
Reuters 
At the taping of her live show today Oprah Winfrey 
Black Friday is just a week away and many of the deals are appearing online. Some stores are opening as early as midnight to shoppers. Walmart is opening its doors at midnight to avoid a repeat of last year's Black Friday death. Here are some highlights of some of the offerings so far.
