Pity the poor Haffa brothers, Florian and Thomas. Around this time last year the two Bavarian businessmen were closing in on the purchase of the late Jim Henson's Muppet empire--a $680 million deal that brought Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy and the denizens of Sesame Street into the fold of their company, EM.TV & Merchandising. They were the toast of the high-flying Neuer Markt, a sub-exchange that the Deutsche Borse (German Stock Exchange) set up for sky-bound new issues like theirs.
Look at 'em now. The Neuer Markt is floundering with the rest of world stock markets, Florian is out...