Personal Taste Time to go exploring for an old Explorer February 16, 2012 WHEN watch aficionados think of Rolex, it’s the brand’s steel sports models – its “tool” watches – that really excite them. No other brand has such a wide range of iconic watches so inexorably linked to achievement, adventure and celebrity. In the 1950s, Tenzeng Norgay and Sir Edmund Hillary conquered Everest with Rolex Oysters an [...]
The new sophistication February 16, 2012 BEAUTY or brains? For a long time women’s watches have been focused on the former with lashings of diamonds distracting from what’s hidden inside – typically a battery-run movement. But now we can enjoy both and stop borrowing from the boys, because some of the world’s finest watch brands have realised that women want a [...]
The ultimate ladies’ watch February 16, 2012 As a name that’s synonymous with the most luxurious, covetable and collectable of timepieces, you’d expect Patek Philippe to come up with something pretty special for women – and it has. The Ladies First, housed within an elegant 18ct rose gold case, is a self-winding minute repeater – a watch that beautifully chimes, at your [...]
US jobless claims fall to four-year low February 16, 2012 The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week to a near four-year low, suggesting the labour market recovery was gaining steam. “The job market is getting better and that’s really key. We’re still in the early innings of this but I’m glad to see another data point that adds [...]
GM profits lower than expected February 16, 2012 General Motors Co posted a weaker-than-expected fourth-quarter profit as disappointing performance overseas offset strong results in North America. Net income attributable to common shareholders was $500m (£319m), or 28 cents a share, compared with $500m, or 31 cents a share, in the year-earlier quarter.
Banks hit by latest ratings blow February 16, 2012 The FTSE 100 fell this morning with the banking sector pegging back the index as Moody’s threatened to downgrade 17 banks and securities firms and the Greece bailout hit yet more hurdles. The ratings agency said it might cut the long-term credit rating of UBS, Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley by as much as three [...]
FSA slaps former Punch broker Osborne with £350k fine February 16, 2012 ANDREW Osborne, the corporate broker at the centre of the Greenlight Capital insider dealing case, has been fined £350,000 by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) for his role in the affair. The FSA has already fined the US hedge fund manager David Einhorn from Greenlight £7.2m for trading in shares in Punch Taverns in 2009 [...]
Kingfisher profits to jump by a fifth February 16, 2012 Kingfisher, Europe’s biggest home improvements retailer, said it would meet forecasts for a 20 per cent rise in year profit after posting sales growth and market share gains in its fourth quarter. “Our established programme of self-help initiatives has continued to serve us well and so we expect to announce full year adjusted profit in [...]
Spanish GDP shrinks but bond auction sees strong demand February 16, 2012 The Spanish economy shrank for the first time in two years in the fourth quarter, the start of what economists fear could be a prolonged slump as Madrid implements harsh austerity measures to deflate a massive budget deficit. Gross domestic product shrank by 0.3 per cent in the fourth quarter on a quarterly basis, as [...]
BAE profits fall in military spending squeeze February 16, 2012 Europe’s biggest defence contractor BAE Systems reported a seven per cent fall in full-year profit, hit by continued cuts to military spending by the United States and Britain, a delay in key orders and the end of the Iraq war. BAE Systems posted underlying earnings before interest, tax and amortisation (EBITA) of £2.02bn for the [...]