The global luxury market will grow by a relatively modest 4-5 percent in turnover this year compared to the 10 percent expansion seen in 2012, a study released on Thursday by research consultancies Bain & Company and Fondazione Altagamma showed. "We are seeing a more even distribution of global growth," said Claudia D'Arpizio, a Bain partner in Milan and lead author of the study. "In turn, brands are refocusing from short term, reactive hot spot thinking to long-term sustained growth strategies," she said.

The price of oil rose to near US$96 a barrel on Friday ahead of the release of Conference Board's index of leading indicators for the U.S. economy. By early afternoon in Europe, benchmark oil for June delivery was up 45 cents to $95.61 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 86 cents on Thursday. The Conference Board's index attempts to gauge what's coming over the next several months — investors will watch it for clues about the strength of the recovery in the world's largest economy.

BANGKOK - The price of oil fell below US$95 per barrel Friday after new signs of a choppy economic recovery in the United States. Benchmark oil for June delivery was down 26 cents to $94.90 per barrel at midday Bangkok time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 86 cents to close at $95.16 on the Nymex on Thursday.

NEW YORK, N.Y. - The price of oil slid by nearly $1 a barrel Tuesday as the International Energy Agency raised its forecast for U.S. oil production while cutting its prediction for global crude demand. Benchmark oil for June delivery dropped 96 cents to close at US$94.21 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Oil has declined $2.41 a barrel over the last four trading sessions. The loss came after the Paris-based IEA, which advises 28 countries about energy issues, said rising U.S oil output will be the key source of new supplies over the coming five-year period.