The narrowing bond spread and the “Monti revolution” – The story involving Italy that attracted the most interest this week in the foreign press, whose attentions continued to be focused on the economic situation in the country, was undoubtedly the performance of Italian government bonds and the narrowing of the yield gap (the so-called “spread”) between Italian BTPs and German Bunds.
Among the papers that carried related items were Les Echos of 31 January – Dette : le climat se détend très nettement en Italie*, and the Handelsblatt of January 30 – Rendite für zehnjährige Italien-Anleihe fällt.
The good news on the debt front was accompanied by further analysis of the work of the caretaker government led by Mario Monti: the Argentine newspaper La Nación spoke of the “revolution” being waged in Italy against entrenched privilege (January 28 – La “revolución Monti”: una Italia con menos privilegios y más competencia), whilst El País trumpeted Italy’s “comeback” on the European stage (January 30 – El regreso de Italia). The German daily Die Welt, in a piece analyzing the responses to the crisis across the continent, proclaimed that “Europe has a new star” (January 29 – Monti singt den Schulden-Blues der Staatsverschulder). Meanwhile, the spotlight was also trained on the other “Super Mario” – the President of the European Central Bank Mario Draghi – by The Washington Post, which applauded the decisions taken by the banker in Frankfurt (February 2 – Two cheers for ‘Super Mario’ Draghi).
Benetton, Made in Italy and Fiat’s latest results – Coverage of Italy in the international press this week was not, however, confined to macroeconomic analysis. Among the Italian conglomerates that aroused particular interest was the well known Made-in-Italy brand Benetton: the group’s proposed offer to buy all outstanding shares, a course which the family has decided on in order to remove its stock from trading in Milan and prepare to meet the new challenges ahead, was covered by Expansión on January 31 – La familia Benetton estudia una opa sobre su grupo para excluirlo de bolsa, and Les Echos – La famille Benetton va retirer le groupe de textile de la Bourse de Milan*. The expansion plans in Brazil of the highway operator Atlantia (part of the Benetton stable) were also the subject of a report in Valor Econômico (January 30 – Italiana Atlantia se une a Bertin em rodovias).
Other Italian fashion brands making news in the foreign press this week were: Ferragamo, to which the Hong Kong-based newspaper the South China Morning Post devoted an article looking at its strategies for the Chinese market (January 30 – Business on a handshake fits Ferragamo just fine*), and Prada, which according to Le Monde has taken “full advantage of globalization” (February 1 – Prada, l’icône du chic italien, profite à plein de la mondialisation). Meanwhile, Armani’s foray into the furniture industry in India was the focus of a piece that appeared in The Times of India (February 1 – Armani to enter desi homeware market).
Finally, also under the spotlight this week were Fiat’s latest results, which were lifted by the performance of Chrysler (the Financial Times, February 1 – Fiat ahead despite difficult Europe market*; and The New York Times, February 2 – Chrysler Ends Quarter With a $225 Million Profit), as well as the doubling of Fiat Industrial’s profits (Expansión, February 1 – Fiat Industrial duplica el beneficio en 2011 y prevé elevarlo otro 28% este año).
Italian culture abroad – Italian cultural coverage in the overseas press this week was almost exclusively concerned with exhibitions of Italian art abroad. Brazil’s Folha de S. Paulo devoted an article to the works of Amedeo Modigliani and Leonardo Da Vinci on show in Rio de Janeiro to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Brazilian national museum of fine arts (January 29 – Museu expõe Modigliani e Da Vinci), whilst The Washington Post carried a review of an exhibition of works by Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione at Washington DC’s National Gallery of Art (January 30 – Art Review: ‘The Baroque Genius of Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione’*). Lastly, the German daily Die Zeit drew its readers’ attention to an initiative of the Fondazione Prada which transformed the Palais d’Iena in Paris into a museum for 24 hours (January 29 – Unverkäufliches bei Prada).
In memory of Scalfaro – Rounding off this week’s coverage of Italy in the world’s press were a dozen or so items honoring the memory of the distinguished former President of Italy Oscar Luigi Scalfaro, “one of the greatest figures of Italian political life” according to the Argentine newspaper Clarín (January 30 – Pesar en Italia por la muerte del ex presidente Scalfaro), a view shared by The New York Times, which recalled the leadership he demonstrated in the “turbulent” 1990s and his achievements in the fight against organized crime and terrorism as Italy’s Minister of the Interior (January 29 – Oscar Luigi Scalfaro, Ex-President of Italy, Dies at 93).
* marked articles viewable online upon payment or registration