CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS July 19, 2012 Inflexion Private Equity The private equity house has announced the promotion of Richard Swann from the position of investment director to its partnership. He joined Inflexion in 2008, and has since led several of its investments. Swann’s promotion follows the firm’s recent appointments in Brazil, India and China. Coutts Johnny Heng has been appointed managing [...]
BEST of the BROKERS July 19, 2012 NEXT UBS has maintained its “buy” rating on the stock but upped its target price from 3,250p to 3,500p, saying it expects Next to have escaped the worst impact of the weather in its second quarter. The broker also says the popular Directory business may have benefited from the bad weather, and has nudged its [...]
London Stock Exchange surges as speculation over merger circulates July 19, 2012 BRITAIN’S top share index edged higher yesterday helped by a bounce in several heavyweight banking stocks. But the London Stock Echange gathered the most attention, with a late surge before the close sparked by speculation of a potential tie-up with its Singaporean counterpart. The talk follows the LSE’s recently announced joint venture with the Singapore [...]
Tech shares push S&P to 10-week high July 19, 2012 US stocks rose yesterday for a third straight day, with the S&P 500 at a 2-1/2 month high, as earnings from technology companies and expectations for more monetary stimulus outweighed weak economic data. So far in this earnings season a majority of companies have beaten analysts’ lowered expectations. In the latest boost, IBM raised its [...]
LONDON TIME July 19, 2012 FAST TIMES Usain Bolt’s winning watch P.24 11 pages of the best sports watches on Earth Bubba Watson: golf genius, watch nerd. Interview: P.29 Timing the Olympics: Omega’s big 2 weeks P.23
TIMING GAMES July 19, 2012 ONE thing we know about the modern Olympic athlete is how far training regimes have come since the days of jogging along the beach to a Vangelis soundtrack. The science and tech involved is at the cutting edge, from the analysis of physical performance to training in wind tunnels and sleeping in oxygen tents. If [...]
The London 2012 watch July 19, 2012 Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra Co-Axial Chronograph “London 2012” Long name, corking watch. In honour of London 2012 Omega has brought out a special model in its celebrated Seamaster line. First introduced in 1947, the Seamaster – ostensibly its diving watch range, but one that has taken a multitude of forms over the years, from ultra-rugged [...]
As sported by superstars July 19, 2012 Usain bolt Hublot King Power Usain Bolt The fastest man on Earth is one of the sporting world’s great showmen, so no wonder he should plump for Hublot, one of the showiest brands out there. Just in time for the Games, Hublot has brought out this limited edition chrono in Bolt’s honour. A chunky 48mm [...]
Louis Vuitton sets sail for glory July 19, 2012 THE great fashion and luxury house Louis Vuitton is becoming an ever growing force – if a relatively niche one – in watchmaking. Its models, all based around a highly recogniseable “tambour” – meaning “drum” – shape, frequently exhibit something of a nautical theme thanks to the brand’s longterm involvement in the America’s Cup. As it happens, [...]
Tough, functional, stylish July 19, 2012 Default watch purchases used to fall into categories: “dress watch”, “sport watch” and “work watch”. There were numerous choices within those groupings, but few mattered. If you were looking at the quality sector only three or four brands counted. What they had in common were quality, reputation and – important for some – exclusivity. All [...]