Gold investors disheartened as volatility spikes
By Frank Tang – Analysis
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Investors who would normally seek a safe haven in gold in what is one of the worst financial crises in history are shunning the precious metal because of the market’s extreme volatility.
But bullion prices have dropped so sharply that buying is active in the Asian physical market, [...]
UPDATE 3-Ackman urges Target to spin off real estate assets
(Adds Ackman comments, details throughout)
By Nicole Maestri
NEW YORK, Oct 29 (Reuters) – Hedge fund manager William Ackman is urging Target Corp (TGT.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) to spin off a separate company that would own the land on which its stores are built, unlocking the value of a real estate portfolio [...]
Italian who dated Anne Hathaway gets 4 1/2 years
By Christine Kearney
NEW YORK (Reuters) – An Italian businessman who dated Hollywood actress Anne Hathaway, made a deal with supermarket mogul Ron Burkle and exaggerated ties to the Vatican, was sentenced on Thursday to 4 1/2 years in prison for fraud.
Raffaello Follieri, 30, pleaded guilty in September to fraudulently obtaining $2.4 million by leading investors [...]
UPDATE 2-Mexico energy reform sails through the Senate
(Recasts, adds details, quotes, background)
By Miguel Angel Gutierrez and Robert Campbell
MEXICO CITY, Oct 23 (Reuters) – Mexican senators overwhelmingly approved reforms to oil legislation on Thursday that aim to bring private sector expertise into the state-run industry but are unlikely to reverse sliding production soon.
Most opposition senators joined with the ruling [...]
Luxury goods expected to slow in 2009
By Marie-Louise Gumuchian
MILAN (Reuters) – The luxury goods market is expected to see slowing growth this year and a possible downturn in 2009 as the global crisis and weaker consumer confidence hit the sector, experts said on Tuesday.
Analysts are expecting cracks to appear in the global luxury market, starting with the Christmas period when such [...]
Gold hits 13-month low on fund liqudity concern
By Frank Tang and Julie Crust
NEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) – Gold prices hit their lowest levels in more than a year on Thursday, briefly trading below $700 an ounce, as funds sold heavily to raise cash, but a reversal of the dollar’s strength lifted bullion off its session lows.
Platinum and palladium also dropped on worries over [...]
UPDATE 1-EBay to ban sale of ivory products
(Adds IFAW press conference, SAN FRANCISCO dateline, byline)
By Alexandria Sage
SAN FRANCISCO, Oct 21 (Reuters) – EBay Inc (EBAY.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) will institute a global ban on the sale of all ivory products via its online auction site by Jan. СЕКРЕТУТКА, after a conservation group found over 4,000 illegal elephant [...]
Outlook seen challenging for luxury goods in 2009
By Marie-Louise Gumuchian
MILAN (Reuters) – The luxury goods market is expected to see slowing growth this year and a possible downturn in 2009 as the global crisis and weaker consumer confidence hit the sector, experts said on Tuesday.
Analysts are expecting cracks to appear in the global luxury market, starting with the Christmas period when such [...]
UK hosts big Byzantium show, some exhibits delayed
By Mike Collett-White
LONDON (Reuters) – A major London exhibition on the Byzantine Empire gathers more than 340 priceless artifacts from around the world, many of them so rare and fragile that they are unlikely ever to travel again.
“Byzantium 330-1453″ is the latest blockbuster show at the Royal Academy of Arts, and hundreds of thousands of [...]
EBay to ban sale of ivory products
(Adds IFAW press conference, SAN FRANCISCO dateline, byline)
By Alexandria Sage
SAN FRANCISCO, Oct 21 (Reuters) – EBay Inc (EBAY.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) will institute a global ban on the sale of all ivory products via its online auction site by Jan. СЕКРЕТУТКА, after a conservation [...]