PERISCOPE

LUXURY Special Issues

The top end of the market has long set the tone in fashion, travel and technology. And while luxury brands know their future lies with the masses from the Middle Kingdom to the American Midwest, their cachet still depends on satisfying their most well-heeled customers. In this double issue we explore the many ways they're trying to do so, from building ever-more-exclusive getaways to rediscovering the value of needle and thread, wielded by a skilled hand. And starting from our next issue, we will follow these trends in a revamped TIP SHEET section. We hope you enjoy the new offerings.

BUSINESS

Good News: You're Fired

John Mack's return to Morgan Stanley was supposed to be a new beginning. He hoped to put an end to the turmoil under his predecessor, Phil Purcell, and gave his staffers a pep talk on his first day, encouraging them to stop looking at Morgan headlines in the papers.

Easier said than done. Morgan Stanley's board has triggered fresh controversy by paying $113 million to Purcell (with $44 million of that in cash) and $32 million to one of his chief lieutenants, 41-year-old co-president Steve Crawford, on their way out. (Mack added to the firestorm by negotiating a package that guaranteed him $25 million a year, but he quickly gave that up in exchange for compensation tied more closely to his performance.) Purcell and Crawford join the growing ranks of executives who've scored big paydays even as they've been shown the door.