On The Block

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Dubai’s Istithmar World, which bought Barneys for an astounding $942.3 million in 2007, is now seriously considering unloading the department store chain for less than half of that. But is anyone interested? "Any buyer of Barneys faces a crisis that luxury-goods billionaire Bernard Arnault calls the worst since the 1930s. In 2009, luxury sales may fall for the first time in a decade, consulting firm Bain & Co. estimates." [Bloomberg]