Coffee on the market and all that jazz – Financial uncertainties have not dimmed the foreign press’s interest in the Milan Stock Exchange. The Financial Times reported that Massimo Zanetti Beverage Group (which produces Segafredo Zanetti coffee) is getting ready for an IPO of the next few months (July 18 – Massimo Zanetti Beverage appoints banks for Milan listing). And while waiting for bigger listings, Milan is looking at AIM, the market for SMEs which today includes 50 companies. The most recent member is the Milan jazz club Blue Note (Financial Times, July 22 – Jazz club joins Italian listing surge).
Industry and technology – Last week the foreign press also showed its fascination with industry and technology. The Italian company Maire Tecnimont is about to sign a contract for 1.6 billion dollars to build a large fertilizer plant in the United States (Reuters, July 21 giugno – Maire Tecnimont to build $1.6 billion U.S. fertilizer plant), and Siemens – as reported by El Mundo – will bring the latest cybernetic technologies to Expo 2015 (July 21 – Siemens convertirá la Expo Milán en un ‘aparato eléctrico’ inteligente). Ferrari will become one of the attractions of the Spanish theme park Portaventura in an area dedicated to the Cavallino Rampante (Les Echos, July 18 – Ferrari Land lâchera les chevaux en 2016), while the technology and style of Maserati are competing with Porsche in the sportscar sector, as the Wall Street Journal (July 18 – Maserati Ghibli Targets the Mainstream) and Lamborghini is concentrating on Middle Eastern markets and is presenting a new model – Hurcan – in Lebanon (L’Orient Le Jour, July 24 – La Lamborghini Huracan débarque au Liban).
An exceptional tourist – The usual summer stories last week included an exceptional journey, that of New York mayor Bill del Blasio who made a stop in the incredible Capri during his trip to Italy (L’Orient Le Jour, July 24 – La Lamborghini Huracan débarque au Liban) as well as in his family’s town of origin Sant’Agata de’ Goti, where he received a warm welcome (July 23 su Wall Street Journal,- De Blasio Welcomed Home, Italian-Style; New York Times – A Celebrity’s Welcome in Italy for de Blasio).
There were also other stories. El Pais travelled to Ravello following in the steps of Wagner (July 19 – Wagner y el silencio en Ravello), while the New York Times went to Rome to see the Cinecittà World Theme Park which will give a new lease on the Hollywood on the Tiber (21 – Investing in Fantasy to Save a Fraying Reality). In addition, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung dedicated a homage to Siciliy, the land of vacation (July 22 – Du bist so heiß wie ein Vulkan), and the New York Times did a taste test of Soave (July 18 – The Two Faces of Soave).
A Nibali win – On the way to the last stage to Paris, Vincenza Nibali gave an extraordinary performance and won the yellow jersey. His showing in the first stages of the Tour de France was reported in the sports pages of the international press, with articles on El Pais (18 – Ganar a la Nibali), The Times (July 19 –Vincenzo Nibali climbs clear and has a remarkable Tour victory in his grasp) and Bloomberg Businessweek (July 20 – Nibali Maintains Tour de France Lead as Kristoff Wins 15th Stage).
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