European retailers are always nervous before Christmas, their most important season, but this year they're more jittery than usual. That's because it's so hard to read the economic tea leaves: in Continental Europe, growth looks to be picking up, but consumer spending remains sluggish in Germany and elsewhere. And in the U.K., consumption has slowed as the housing boom tails off. But the news isn't all bad. Investment bankers and fund managers, already highly paid, are expecting record year-end bonuses thanks to vibrant stock markets and a wave of mergers and acquisitions. Headhunters Russell Reynolds Associates say that fund managers' bonuses...
