To book guests, contact Brenda Velez at 212-445-4078-Brenda.Velez@Newsweek.com-or Grace Huh at 212-445-5831-Grace.Huh@Newsweek.com. Articles are posted on www.Newsweek.com.  This issue will remain on newsstands for two weeks.

INTERNATIONAL EDITIONS: HIGHLIGHTS AND EXCLUSIVES,

MAY 26-JUNE 2, 2008 SPECIAL DOUBLE ISSUE

COVER: Unsinkable Luxury. (All overseas editions). European Economics Editor Stefan Theil reports that the superwealthy, and the businesses that serve them seem, to be above the economic crunch that is impacting the rest of the world. According to a February survey by Prince & Associates, while average consumers said they planned to cut back on shopping, 80 percent of the richest Americans-those worth $10 million or more-actually planned to increase their luxury spending.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/137480

      There's Nothing Else Like It in the World. Special Correspondent Sameer Reddy reports that rather than signal their wealth with the latest Rolex, Ferrari or Prada bag, top-tier consumers are seeking custom-made product-sometimes by an up-and-coming designer-that no one else will ever own.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/137481

      Bottling You Own Personal Smell. Special Correspondent Amber Haq reports that luxury fragrance brands-titans like Guerlain, Cartier and Jean Patou, as well as smaller specialized houses-are investing in the rapid-growth niche sector of bespoke perfumery. The process can take up to 10 meetings with specialists, resulting in the creation of a final perfume over several months. Luxury heavyweights such as Cartier and Guerlain charge from $45,000 to more than $90,000.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/137482

Promoting Art Along With the Handbags. Special Correspondent Alexandra A. Seno reports that with budgets and creative energy most museums can only dream of, luxury brands have become some of the most powerful impresarios of contemporary art on the international stage. But as new markets grow in importance, these brands are not only sponsoring other people's shows but also actively creating their own.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/137485

In Praise of Competitive Urges. Special Correspondent Nick Foulkes reports that being rich has always been a competitive business. The thing about luxury goods is that while they may look like boats, cars, wristwatches or works of art, they are, as often as not, scorecards. As merely rich escalates into unspeakably wealthy, people use possessions to set themselves apart from those who wish to be their peers.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/137484

      Mine's Bigger Than Yours. Senior Editor David A. Kaplan reports on the battle of egos on the high seas between Tom Perkins, Jim Clark and Joe Vittoria to see who can build the ultimate sailing yacht. The three Americans were the Vanderbilts of the new yachting age-each with a very different boat, each with his own exemplar of conspicuous construction.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/137483

      Very French Delights. Paris Bureau Chief Christopher Dickey profiles Philippe Delerm, French author of  "La Première Gorgée de Bière" ("The First Big Swallow of Beer"), a volume of essays on the experience of luxury.  "For Delerm, the magic of things lies not in their cost or status but in their association with people, with memories and with the sensation of well-being. And those are characteristics immune to economic realities," Dickey writes.                

http://www.newsweek.com/id/137486

Paying for a Chance To Suffer in Silence. Special Correspondent Mac Margolis reports on the newest trend in high-end vacations-deprivation. Prices for some of these vacations start at $300 to $500 a day for experiences that include painful workouts, a nanoportion of, say, porridge and prunes with plain decaf tea.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/137487

      Another Pillow for Your Chocolate, Sir? Special Correspondent Tara Weingarten reports that it's no longer enough to meet customer demands; purveyors of luxury now need to individualize how they woo and keep patrons. "At this level of affluence, the consumer's psyche is very different from the just somewhat rich," says Wes Brown of Iceology, a Los Angeles-based consumer-research firm.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/137489

      Asia Raises the Gavel. Special Correspondent Sonia Kolesnikov-Jessop reports that China has passed France to become the third biggest auction center. Over the past few years, Asian buyers-often young entrepreneurs-have been flexing their muscles in the region's art market, helping to push prices for Chinese contemporary works to unprecedented heights.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/137490

      The Glamour And the Gloss. Seno reports that in the flagging media industry, only lifestyle magazines show signs of life. The success of large-format, highly stylized books that cater to the wants and desires of the wealthy elite have even lured some unusual punters to the table, such as The Wall Street Journal which will launch its much anticipated WSJ. magazine in September.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/137491

      Waiting for the Boom to End. Special Correspondent Barrett Sheridan writes that there is no doubt that many New Yorkers are somewhat optimistic about the current credit crunch. "Manhattan, after all, is a borough where the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment is $2,600 a month, and many of the borough's 1.6 million residents pay much, much more than that," he writes. He adds that much of the city is hoping for a crash-or at least a minor dust-up-that will send rents and other prices tumbling back to reasonable levels.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/137493

CHINA: Collapse. Special Correspondent Mary Hennock and Beijing Bureau Chief Melinda Liu report from China on the recovery efforts from the earthquake that may have killed as many as 50,000 people. Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao has toured the disaster zone and TV newscasts showed him wielding a bullhorn and begging exhausted rescue teams not give up. China took a beating for its  ham-handed response to the Tibetan riots in March. But this crisis is different. For one thing, it's exactly the kind of problem at which the Beijing leadership excels: a test of mass mobilization and logistics.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/137480

WORLD VIEW: Who's the Real Appeaser? Newsweek International Editor Fareed Zakaria writes that in dealing with Hizbullah, Hamas and the Taliban, the Bush administration has adopted a macho, exclusively military approach. All three of these groups "have a political base in their societies that is deep and enduring. Denouncing them as evil and promising to destroy them will not change that; in fact, doing so only adds to their mystique of resistance and struggle," Zakaria writes. "What we  need is a political strategy to combat, contest and weaken the appeal of these groups or to marginalize their violent factions. Such a policy would naturally involve some contact with their leaders, but as part of a much broader effort to engage all groups in these societies politically."

http://www.newsweek.com/id/137518

THE LAST WORD: George Soros, billionaire financier and philanthropist. Soros discusses how far along we are in the current economic crisis and what is to be expected. "The worst of the liquidity crisis has receded, but much of the fallout in the real economy has yet to be felt," he says. "I think there will still be a significant decline in U.S. housing prices. We probably aren't yet even half of the way down. Also, consumer spending in the U.S. is going to decline a lot more. Thirdly, there will be a constraint on credit for business activity."       

http://www.newsweek.com/id/137478

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