Valentine's Day is coming up, and if your loved one gives you a present from the brand that Markus Karlsson's guest is in charge of, then you should probably thank your lucky stars. Bernard Fornas is the Chief Executive of Cartier International, the luxury jeweller and watch-maker. It's a sector that has proven resilient in the past few years, especially thanks to rapid growth in Asia.
Asian shares rallied to two-week highs Thursday following a move by the world's major central banks to battle the global liquidity problem. However, some analysts warned that this simply bought more time for Europe and its worsening debt crisis.
European markets fell early on Tuesday amid investor concerns that politicians in Italy and Greece will be unable to implement their tough austerity reforms.
European investors were cautiously optimistic at the start of Monday's trading following the appointment of economist and former European Commission minister Mario Monti as the head of Italy's government at the weekend.
Markets rallied following Thursday's key eurozone rescue deal in Brussels with the main European markets all closing higher. World stocks measured by the MSCI All-Country World Index advanced to a seven-week high of 1.7 percent.
Asian stock markets performed well in trading Monday, with the Hang Seng soaring to 3.92 per cent. Some experts attributed the rally to optimism that the EU will push through its long-debated bailout fund when it meets this Wednesday.
Asian stocks tumbled as much as four percent Friday amid growing fears that the U.S. economy is slipping into recession and some European lenders are facing short-term funding restraints.
European stocks opened on a high note Thursday morning after a 20 percent fall over the past three weeks. Reassuring comments from Société Générale's CEO sent its stock surging 8 percent and helped calm fears over the health of French banks.
Asian markets recovered slightly after reporting early losses on Thursday amid mounting concern over the health of French banks as Europe's sovereign debt crisis threatened to claim more victims in the eurozone.
Asian markets bounced back Wednesday after the US Federal Reserve pledged to keep interest rates at record lows for the next two years amid fears of a double-dip US recession after growth proved more sluggish than expected in the first half of 2011.
