In early February, Casino Mogul Steve Wynn took a stand on layoffs. The gaming industry is flailing — Nevada regulators recently formed a task force on bankruptcies — but when it came to cutting costs by cutting employees, Wynn wouldn't hear of it. Instead, Wynn announced that everyone at his company's two Las Vegas properties, Wynn and Encore, would take a pay cut. Salaried workers earning $150,000 or more would see a 15% drop in their paychecks; those making ...

Fewer Bentleys cruise the streets of Moscow these days, sushi sales are down, and construction on Europe's tallest tower has halted for lack of money. For fashionistas at the opening of the 18th annual Russian Fashion Week on Sunday, the most potent sign of the times was the sight of people wearing last year's styles. "Even the very rich aren't just going out and buying anymore," says Tatyana Ageyeva, a buyer who has worked for élite labels like Kenzo and ...

President Obama can't assure that the economy will bounce back this year, but he says he will "get all the pillars in place for recovery this year." Obama made the pledge in a 35-minute interview -- largely focused on the economy and the war in Afghanistan -- with The New York Times aboard Air Force One on Friday, according to a story published Saturday. "I don't think that people should be fearful about our future," he told the newspaper. "I ...

Echo has an endlessly challenging job. On one assignment, she might play a hostage negotiator; on another, a midwife; on still another, a woman in love. Then she gets chauffeured to a treatment at a spalike facility filled with warm light and blond wood. It's a little like being a Hollywood actress on location. But not exactly. Echo's "engagements"--ranging from deadly capers to prostitution--are real. That spa treatment is a sometimes painful process in which her personality and ...

The murders of two super-yacht staff within a fortnight have shaken the luxury yacht industry and sparked calls for crews to exercise extreme caution. Both murders occurred in popular yachting destinations in the Caribbean islands and involved violent attacks. Last week, U.S. luxury yacht chef Sara Kuszak, of Savannah, Georgia was murdered after being abducted during a morning run in the Puerto del Rey marina in Fajardo, Puerto Rico. Kuszak's five months pregnant body was found in a field ...