Swatch CEO bets on luxury boom in U.S., Japan

(Reuters) - Strong demand for Swatch Group's high-end brands such as
Omega and Breguet, particularly in emerging markets like China
and Russia, helped the Swiss company post a record net profit
in 2006.




Speaking with reporters at the group's newly built
skyscraper in Tokyo's glitzy Ginza shopping district, CEO Nick
Hayek Jr. said he also saw huge growth potential in Japan.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

ICAP Says Full-Year Profit Rises 3.5% on Surge in Electronic Broking

(Bloomberg) -- ICAP Plc, the world's largest broker
of transactions between banks, said full-year profit rose 3.5
percent on increased computer-based trading of bonds, stocks,
currencies and their derivatives.

Net income rose to 121.3 million pounds ($239.6 million) for
year to March 31, from 117.2 million pounds a year earlier, the
London-based company said today in a Regulatory News Service
statement. Revenue rose 20 percent to 1.1 million pounds.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Oaktree Capital Joins Hong Kong Developer to Build Macau Apartment Towers

(Bloomberg) -- Oaktree Capital Management LLC, a Los
Angeles-based investment firm with $40 billion in assets, will
join a Hong Kong developer to build apartment towers in Macau,
the world's biggest gaming hub.

The project will cost between HK$2.5 billion ($320 million)
and HK$3 billion, said Patrick Wong, chief executive officer of
Tenacity Real Estate Group Ltd., in an interview yesterday. Wong
declined to specify how much each partner would invest.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News