The German newsmagazine Focus has today another one of those “only in America” pieces, about how you just can’t keep a true wheeler-dealer down. The title is Best deals with an embezzler-of-billions and the lede: “He’s under house arrest and has to wear an electronic ankle-bracelet. And yet: On the Internet portal Ebay [sic] the alleged embezzler-of-billions Bernard Madoff is ringing the cash-register.”

When you think about it, who would want to pass up the opportunity to acquire some historic flotsam from what is shaping up to be the biggest act of financial fraud of all time? The article speaks of fleece (if you’ll pardon the expression) jackets, mousepads, umbrellas, binoculars, and other stuff that Madoff has made available for sale on-line, all of it emblazoned with the “Madoff Securities” logo. There was even a t-shirt on offer for a time with Madoff’s smiling face on it and a caption below: “Trust me.” Maybe it’s not too late to head over to the eBay website yourself to see what’s what – I’ll give you the link, but leave it to you to work the site’s search-engine to find out what’s left.

The Danish business newspaper Børsen, while naturally covering tightly this week’s enormous travails in the American financial establishment, also has found at least some on-line pixel-space for one tertiary effect: there are some mighty interesting souvenirs coming on the market via eBay (Buy a piece of finance-history on eBay).

For instance? Consider the exquisite Lehman water-pitcher on offer: the seller comments “[Lehman] Administrative Director Dick Fuld told me that this pitcher cannot be smashed to pieces, but he also said that about our loan-business two months ago. Caveat emptor, I would say.” Bids started at 99¢ but later reached $20.50 for the item, the newspaper reports. Or you can also bid to become the proud owner of a Lehman-brand fire-safety hat (brand-sikkerhedshat). “Become the owner of a piece of financial history,” the seller implores.

Everyone knows you can find anything on eBay. Heck, for the right auction-winning price you can pick up Britney Spear’s used chewing-gum. And remember back when that guy tried to use this forum to auction off his kidney for transplant?

Presumably the functioning of eBay Deutschland is a bit more decorous (but maybe I simply don’t want to initiate some Google searches to try to find out). Still, there’s one thing that eBay Deutschland doesn’t offer (nor, as far as I now, the original American variety), and that is jobs. Paid work happens to be what a lot of Germans are looking for these days. That very real fact, and the possible connection to an eBay-like facility to address the problem, are what went through the head of German medical doctor and entrepreneur Alexander Stillfeldt about nine months ago. The result was JobBerlin.com, precisely an on-line forum for seeking and winning all kinds of work, for now just in the Berlin/Brandenburg area of Germany. So reports Nikolaus Doll today in the “Economy” section of the Berliner Morgenpost (He Who Demands the Least, Wins). (more…)

There’s an interesting article in today’s Hospodárské noviny (Cuddle Your President), by Nad’a Klevisová, reporting in wonder about one aspect of American democracy that apparently has not yet percolated through to the Czech version: political knick-knacks and souvenirs. It begins:

Let’s imagine that presidential elections come around again and Václav Klaus once again stands as a candidate. So his supporters flood into the stores to buy him in miniature, in a suit with a proper tie, and with buttons where his solar plexus is located. Ridiculous? Not in America.

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