Rent a watch

Looking wealthy is not cheap. Even if you can't afford the mansion and yacht—or Ferraris or Hermes bags —there are now countless businesses that will rent them to you for a fraction of the purchase price. Now a new category has joined the rental-rich trend: luxury watches.

Eleven James, a new timeshare, will allow customers to get a new luxury watch for an annual fee. The watches range in value from $7,000 to $50,000 or more.

Randy Brandoff, Eleven James' founder, said "Today's wealthy are smarter about their spending. They prefer to rent rather than own when possible. Private jets, vacation homes, classic cars, and many other historically prized possessions are accessible via various club and shared ownership models. I am simply following that trend"

Currently, three different Eleven James membership options are available.

• Aficionado: $249 per month (3 watches) or $449 (6 watches) is the simplest way to join Eleven James. Brands in this plan include Breitling, Omega, Paneria, and Rolex.

• Connoisseur: $459 per month (3 watches) or $829 (6 watches). Brands include Audemars Piguet, Hublot, Patek Philippe, and Vacheron Constantin- some of the biggest names in the industry.

• Virtuoso: $899 per month (3 watches) or $1,599 (6 months) The watches in this category are the most luxurious and range in value from $30,000-$50,000. Brand include the likes of Breguet and Ulysse Nardin.

Eleven James holds regular parties so customers can come and exchange their watches. Customers who just want to do their exchanges by mail can use FedEx.

Asked if his clients also include wannabes and pretenders who just want to look like they're rich, Brandoff said "All our members can afford the watch and already own them, but they want the variety at a fraction of the price."

Brandoff said that once Eleven James has 1,000 clients—and detailed data on their watch preferences—it will become an attractive partner for the watch companies. For now, Eleven James buys the watches itself.

"But we are getting good prices and terms because of our volume," Brandoff said.

Eleven James will soon offer a watch trade-in service. Its customers will be able to drop their old watches off on consignment. Some brands are interested in using Eleven James as a marketing exercise.

 “The luxury market is evolving and we want to follow. Eleven James is not just another rental service”, Brandoff said.

edited from USA Today

New Ford CEO

Outgoing Ford CEO Alan Mulally (left), the man who transformed Ford Motor Co. from a dysfunctional money-loser to a thriving company, will retire July 1 and long-time Ford executive Mark Fields (right), currently COO, will replace him.

Fields, 53,  will be named Ford president and chief executive officer and elected as a member of the company's board of directors. He won't name a new COO and plans no executive changes: "The structure's just right now."

Mulally, 68, will retire from the Ford board as well as from his CEO post, and is not planning to work elsewhere. "Retirement sounds good," he said at a "town hall" meeting of employees at Ford's Dearborn headquarters, where the change was announced.

His Ford stock holdings are valued at roughly $300 million, so he doesn't need to work if he doesn't want to.

Bill Ford (center), chairman of the car company, said that when he hired Mulally away from Boeing in 2006, they talked about "all the great things about the Ford culture and the not-so-great things about the Ford culture, and we talked about changing the latter. Here we are eight years later and we did it," Ford said with a wide smile, to enthusiastic applause.

"We did it," Mulally agreed moments later.

In 2006, Mulally's first year at Ford, Ford lost $12.6 billion. It posted another $17.5 billion in red ink the next two years, but in 2009, as rivals continued to struggle, Ford reported a profit of $2.7 billion.

Last year, Ford reported a profit of $7.2 billion, and has earned more than $43 billion under Mulally despite the tough start.

Before becoming COO, Fields was in charge of Ford's operations in the Americas and reversed losses, making North America a profit engine.

"Mark Fields is well positioned to succeed Mulally after 25 years with the company," said Karl Brauer, senior analyst at Kelley Blue Book.

"His previous role as the head of Mazda gives him experience in the Asia-Pacific market, a critical region for growth going forward. In recent years Mark Fields ran operations and cut costs at Ford while serving as a key advisor to Alan Mulally in the formation and execution of the One Ford plan."


And now a short video on Ford and ......








You can also watch this video by clicking on the Play Button

article edited from USA TODAY

Donald Trump's new golf resort

Yesterday Donald Trump confirmed to Golf.com that he purchased the Turnberry Resort in Scotland on Monday night. Trump paid Dubai-based Leisurecorp just over $63 million for the resort, his 17th golf property.

The Turnberry Resort comprises three courses, a hotel and a spa. The courses will continue to be managed by Starwood Hotels & Resorts.

Speaking by phone, Trump said "I wasn’t looking specifically to buy the Open venue on Scotland’s west coast, but I couldn’t pass it up. It was an opportunity, as far as I was concerned. It is an honor and privilege to own one of golf's greatest and most exciting properties".

“Some of the greatest championships in the history of golf have taken place at Turnberry, And the golf course itself is considered one of the greatest in the world. Some rate it as the best in the world. I’m not going to touch a thing unless the Royal and Ancient Golf Club authorities ask for it or approve it.. I won’t do anything to the golf course at all without their full stamp of approval.”

What Trump will touch is the fabled Turnberry Hotel.

Mr Trump said: " This is a fabulous property in a great location .I am planning to invest many millions of dollars in order to bring the hotel to the highest levels of luxury. When completed, the Turnberry Hotel will be the finest and most luxurious golf hotel in the world."

Will he insert the Trump name into the property?

 “We’ll make that decision fairly soon—in a couple of days.”

                                The 10th hole at Turnberry. (David Cannon/Getty Images)




Edited from BBC and Scorecard

What is a photocopier? (video)

 You can also watch this video by clicking on the Play Button