Draghi, guarantor of the euro’s future – “A breath of fresh air in the musty room of the European crisis” was how the foreign press greeted the words – spoken on July 27 – of Mario Draghi, about role that the European Central Bank will play in protecting the single currency. The greatest emphasis on the speech by the ECB president came from Spanish papers, particularly interested in the evolution of the crisis. The daily ABC stated that Draghi is a guarantee for the future of the euro (Draghi garantiza el futuro del euro), while El Pais claimed that all the former Governor of the Bank of Italy needed to do was “raise an eyebrow” to move the markets (“El BCE hará lo necesario para sostener el euro. Y créanme, eso será suficiente”). In other words, according to the economic paper Expansion, the key to solving the crisis lies in the Eurotower, the seat of the ECB (Expansion – El BCE tiene la llave). Other European and American papers reported on the positive reaction of the stock markets (Les Echos – Mario Draghi hausse le ton face aux marchés; Financial Times – Euro takes heart from Draghi comments; New York Times – Assurances on Euro by Central Bank Chief Lift Stocks) as the papers of emerging economies also focused on Draghi’s words. In Asia, the news was reported by Taiwan’s China Post Post (Draghi’s vow to save euro spurs global rally) and Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post (Markets soar after Draghi euro vow) and in South America by the Brazilian Valor Economico (Bolsas da Europa fecham em forte alta após declarações de Draghi). And the Middle Eastern Gulf News also turned its attention to market rises (Asia stocks gain on Draghi’s Euro pledge).
Finally, there was an interview on July 22 in Le Monde (Mario Draghi : «Non, l’euro n’est pas en danger»*) where Draghi promised that the euro was irreversible and that the ECB would act without inhibition
Italy bets on emerging markets – While Europe is seeking a solution to the crisis, Italian businesses are looking abroad for growth opportunities. The preferred destination is inevitably the emerging markets. The Brazilian paper Valor Economic reported that during the first quarter, Italy increased its trade surplus for exports to extra-European markets to 1.5 billion euros (July 24- Itália tem superávit comercial de 1,52 bilhão de euros fora da UE). Another paper Brasil Economico published an article about Magneti Marelli, which has signed agreements with Chinese firms to increase its production in Brazil (July 24 – Chinesas no alvo da Magneti Marelli). There were also two reports from Asia. According to the South China Morning Post, Max Mara is planning to accelerate growth in China, opening one store a week over the next six months (July 24 – MaxMara speeds up China push*), while The Hindu Business Line reported that Lavazza in franchising is developing new franchising outlets in India (July 25 – Barista Lavazza brews franchise plans for smaller cities).
* marked articles viewable online upon payment or registration