In lieu of next week's (we're guessing) inevitable headline "Everybody Everywhere Laid Off," we'll continue to bring the grim news piecemeal, as it terribly unfolds. Today it's art! The market for fancy paintings and stuff has been crap lately, as, really, the arts are always the first thing to go when everyone's broke. Sotheby's and Christie's, our premierest and poshest auction houses, both announced today that layoffs and salary cuts are imminent.

Sotheby's, more explicit about the disaster than Christie's, says they're hoping to reduce their 2009 spending by a cool $7 million. Lady C's was more elusive about the whole unpleasant business, simply saying that they are reviewing their plans ""in light of the current global economic environment and our sale results for this autumn."

Hah. Autumn. What a fancy and extravagant word. They're gonna have to tighten their belts and just call it like the rest of us: bye-bye leaves time.