Seattle Daily Star

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares eases 0.1 percent, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 drops 0.6 percent. Asian shares slipped on Monday ahead of a week thronging with central bank meetings and US inflation data, while the euro eked out a gain on relief the far right did not win the first round of the French presidential elections. A Le Pen victory would be a similar jolt as Britain’s Brexit vote to leave the European Union (EU). The result was close enough to leave the euro just a tick firmer at $1.0888, after an initial jump to $1.0950. The mood in equity markets was cautious, with MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan easing 0.1 percent. Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped 0.6 percent, having shed 2.6 percent last week. S&P 500 stock futures ESc1 and Nasdaq futures NQc1 both dipped 0.2 percent in early trade. Earnings season kicks off this week with JP Morgan, Wells Fargo, Citi, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley all due to report. Wall Street, so far, has fared surp...

  Exports to the US rose by 55 per cent last year, nudging America past China for the top spot After more than a decade, Americans are once again spending more on Swiss watches than anyone. One big reason is that they are thinking differently about them. Call it less bling, more investing. During the pandemic in the US, there has been a boom in the value of collectibles of all sorts — from baseball cards to vintage video games. The reasons are many, but one central catalyst is that people had more time and fewer ways to spend their money. That led to almost anything with scarcity being seen as an investment and finding a robust secondary market. The rising tide lifted Switzerland’s high-end watch industry, with prices surging. “It has become an investment piece,” said 68-year-old Albert Ganjei, who, as founder of Boston-based European Watch Company, has been selling timepieces for nearly three decades. “It has totally changed.” While some watches are so coveted that they sell ...