tch and jewelry sales in 2009 and Hayek said sales had grown in many regions in 2009.
"The picture is not just Asia. Many parts of the world, such as the UK, Russia, Australia, the Nordic countries, Canada and Mexico showed growth in local currencies in 2009 and will continue to grow in 2010," he said.
"America and Japan are the bad boys. The U.S. is certainly coming back, but at a low level
favourite blog ," Hayek said.
Swatch Group's operating margin dropped to 17.6 percent from the 21.2 percent posted a year ago
favourite blog , but profitability picked up in the second half and the full-year figure beat expectations.
The group also said it would propose former Swiss National Bank head Jean-Pierre Roth be elected to the group's board at its annual general meeting in May.
($1=1.074 Swiss francs)
(Additional reporting by Silke Koltrowitz; Editing by Greg Mahlich)
The pandemic of swine flu may be hitting a peak in the United States
favourite blog , health experts said on Friday.
But they stressed that influenza, especially a pandemic, could hit several peaks in a single season. They said weeks or months more of disease could be expected.
"We are beginning to see some declines in flu activity around the country but there is still a lot of influenza," the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Dr. Anne Schuchat told a news conference.
"It is still much greater than we would normally see this time of year."
Separately, a team at Quest Diagnostics analyzed 142
favourite blog ,000 flu tests and found a similar pattern, with tests showing a decline in flu-like illness since October 27.
"The number of specimens that tested positive for 2009 H1N1 influenza dropped in all age groups since late October
h and m jimmy choo, with the exception of those 65 years of age and older," the company said in a statement.
"Our data provides encouraging signs that the 2009 H1N1 pandemic virus isn't spreading as aggressively now as it did in September and most of October," Quest's Dr. Jay Lieberman said in a statement.
"This is enc