Now That’s a Junk Bond
Sharon Pereida wants you to give her $3 now for a bond she says will be worth $5 in 10 years. Five dollars worth of junk, specifically, at Pereida’s used-merchandise store called What’s New? in Sun Valley.
Right; it’s a junk bond.
Pereida, who has run What’s New? since 1988, is issuing sort-of-real-looking, numbered certificates emblazoned with the words Junk Bond. The small type on the certificates states that the buyer who plunks down $3 now may redeem the bond at maturity, April 1, 2000, or thereafter, for “$5 worth of junk” at What’s New.
And just to be official about it, the bonds also state that “the bearer has no rights whatsoever to the assets of What’s New in case of default.” Which is about the same deal a lot of real junk bond holders have gotten.
Pereida, 43, says she has sold 25 of the bonds so far, mostly to friends. She figures she can sell a lot more without any worry about meeting her bond obligations in the year 2000. “I’ve got junk merchandise to last at least that long,” she says. “And remember, junk is in the eye of the beholder.”
She sounds like a lot of investment bankers we used to know.
Stick to What You Know
Paisano Publications has pulled the plug on Woman’s Enterprise, a 2-year-old magazine targeted to entrepreneurial women.
The Agoura Hills company is trying to find a buyer for the magazine, which it said is “showing promise and some profits.”
The reason? “Our other six publications are totally male-oriented, and the decision has been made that we should concentrate our efforts in that marketplace,” said Joe Teresi, Paisano president.
“Male-oriented” might be understating it a bit; the company’s other publications include Easy Riders, Biker Lifestyles and Tattoo.
Woman’s Enterprise was an attempt at diversification that was begun at the same time as the hot-rod publication American Rodder.
“But we found we were better in the automotive field than the woman’s,” said Paisano’s Brian Wood.
The Skinniest Place on Earth
Disneyland is about as American as burgers and hot dogs. And as is everybody else in this health-conscious country, the Magic Kingdom is trying to slim down: It has added a turkey burger to its menu.
The Puppeteer Burger--made with ground turkey rather than ground beef--went on sale last week at the Village Haus snack stand in Fantasyland. The new burger is being offered on a trial basis.
“We think we would like to offer people a healthier alternative,” said Disneyland spokesman Bob Roth. “The hope is that this will be there for quite a while. If (the trial) goes well, it will stay.”
The turkey burger will join other lower-fat foods offered by the snack stand: chicken strips and salads. Mickey Mouse, of course, prefers his turkey burger with cheese.
New Role for Rock
Climbing the corporate ladder could be an easy feat next to this.
J&B; on the Rocks is a national tour bringing a 30-foot, 10-ton “climbing structure” to business centers nationwide so that executives can climb a rock for charity.
This man-made mountain will be at the Wells Fargo Plaza, 444 S. Flower St., in downtown Los Angeles from noon to 6 p.m. Thursday.
The Scotch whiskey maker will donate $1 for every foot climbed to American Oceans Campaign, a Santa Monica-based environmental group.
And, just to be on the safe side, the U.S. Climbing Team will be on hand to guide novices up the structure.
