This New England

The Boston Globe suggests that Fidelity Investments might be for sale. That some new senior executives haven't yet deigned to move to the Boston area from Greater New York, along with some mysterious musings to The Globe by Ned Johnson, the 78-year-old who still runs the company (and hates The Globe), have got a lot of people unhappy in the Hub.

They were already anxious because their 401(k)s managed by Fidelity have tanked, as at most mutual-fund companies -- despite the ever-cherry glossy magazines sent to customers by the company.

Indeed, a lot of people have given up on stock-market investments in general because of the terrible performance and the utter corruption of too many people in the investment business -- not including Mr. Johnson, who has a record of straight-backed rectitude and great generosity to New England charities.

But trust in Wall Street is approaching absolute zero in many quarters of the peasantry and lumpen bourgeoise. Too many lies, and executive greed beyond belief. Most folks would much prefer to have their old gold-watch pensions than a 401(k). But it could have been worse -- they could have privatized Social Security!

If someone from out of town buys Fidelity, you can bet that many of the Boston operations would be at risk, and perhaps so would those in nearby Rhode Island and New Hampshire. Not all at once, but over several years. Thousands of jobs!

State and local governments should't expect gratitude for tax breaks!

Hey, the executives will ask, can't we move more of this stuff to Bengladore?

Absence does not make the CEO heart grow fonder.

Another reminder to states and localities not to fall in love with a few big companies. They'll break your heart with one press release.

Better to depend on a wide range of small and medium size companies. And last year's star industry is another's smelly dog. Just ask Pfizer and Bank of America.

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Here's a quaint illustration of the real-estate crash, in news reported by the esteemed Day of New London (a newspaper owned by an intentionally nonprofit company).

The former American Velvet Mill tony Stonington, Conn., has just been sold at a bankuptcy auction for $310,000. The 160,000-square-foot factory was listed at $3 million only last summer! Now it's gone for the price of a very modest house in the town, which has a large number of rich, and formerly rich, people from New York and even a smattering of Eurotrash.

The new owners: two cops and a lawyer! It seems that only lawyers,
some golden-parachuted Wall Streeters and public-sector employees have the money to buy anything anymore. Let's hope they take care of the 73 tenants in the building, which include some fine artisans who are used to living on gruel.

It's a wonderful place for making things, albeit Dickensian.

And Stonington is one of the nicest walking towns in America.

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 Tags  American Velvet Mill Conn. Fidelity Investments Ned Johnson Stonington

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