According to the New York Times, Conde Nast Publications plans to start a new business magazine and Web site -- despite the fact that the advertising market has been in the doldrums for rivals like BusinessWeek and Forbes. Leading the charge at Conde Nast will be Joanne Lipman, formerly the deputy managing editor of The Wall Street Journal, and David Carey, publisher of The New Yorker magazine (a Conde Nast publication).

While Conde Nast has plenty of firepower to make the new magazine a success (Carey was one of the creative forces behind SmartMoney magazine and Lipman has 22 years of experience at the WSJ), many analysts are skeptical:

"A lot of the traditional business books are still struggling. It is a crowded cluster of magazines of which there are some underperformers. So it is a curiosity."

Conde Nast's move into the world of business was so stunning that even Fishbowl NY - usually never at a loss for words - was left speechless. Conde Nast, after all, is better known for chick mags like Glamour and Lucky, and not at all for hard-hitting business coverage.