“Champagne sales have slipped at the Wine Library, a shop on the fringe of the financial district, at a time when neighborhood businesses have little to toast,” reports the WSJ’s Letter from the City.

In another sign of the grim economics of downsizing, wine sales appear to be getting a boost as City types buy gifts for departing colleagues, says Andrew Rae, director of Uncorked, a specialist wine shop in the City. Sales at his store are up 20% on the year, he says.
“There are a lot of people with office cash collections coming in at the moment,” he says.
Have a drink before heading to Dubai: “Outplaced” investment bankers are often being offered jobs off-shore, way off-shore. It’s a way to keep them in reserve and also a method of recruiting talent to fast-growing markets where it is needed.

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