The Economy – With Italy’s economy on the turn and the government updating the economic forecast contained in its Statement on the Economy and Finance, the international press has been concentrating on Italy’s new targets for growth and in particular, the intention to raise GDP from 0.7 to 0.9% as described by the Wall Street Journal on 19 September in a piece entitled – Italy Raises Its 2016 GDP Growth Target* whilst just a day earlier, Bloomberg wrote that Italy’s Renzi Presents Draft Budget Boosting Growth Outlook.
Fiat’s sales on the other hand, are not only benefiting from the upturn in consumer habits and the purchase of durable goods, the company also owes the Pope a vote of thanks for choosing to use a 500 during his recent visit to Washington, a gesture that has undoubtedly proved to be a publicity coup for all the company’s automobiles and something that both the Wall Street Journal and The Times picked up on in pieces published on 23 September entitled – Pope Francis’ Preference for Modest Rides Is a Boon to Fiat Chrysler* and Pope blesses Fiat with good publicity*.
Fashion has received several and varying mentions in the international press during this seven-day period, thanks to the opening of Milan’s Fashion Week. Whilst on 23 September Reuters ran with Genny, Fay nod to past at Milan fashion week open, Les Echos chose to explain how the sector was managing to overcome the consequences of the slowing down of the Chinese market, thanks mostly to the increase of sales – a guaranteed spike of some 7% in fact – in the US: Fashion Week deMilan: la mode italienne surmonte le ralentissement du marché chinois. It was also on 23 September that the New York Times’ online style magazine featured an informative, but witty video dedicated to fashion designer Fausto Puglisi entitled – How To |Be Italian, the international version of the same paper also ran an article revealing the “secrets” of another Italian fashion guru – At Work With Alessandro Michele, Gucci’s Creative Director*. Reuters however, chose to concentrate on Versace’s ambitions towards either the US or Asian stock markets in its 22 September piece entitled Italy’s Versace may pick U.S. or Asia for listing – CEO.
Tourism – On 19 September, the opening of the Pope’s official summer residence, Castel Gandolfo, to visitors, was picked by the Britain’s famously pink Financial Times for its popular weekly “postcard” feature — Postcard from . . . Castel Gandolfo*, whilst a couple of days earlier, on 22 September, the International New York Times featured details of plans to open a new railway station in Pompeii aimed at improving access to its world-famous archeological site – Italy Plans New Pompeii Train Station*.
Food & Wine, always a popular subject, featured this week in an article published in El Mundo on 18 September featuring the Italian wines that had received a “special invitation” to the ‘International Wine Meeting’ in Benlloch, Spain – Los vinos italianos serán los protagonistas, whilst France’s Le Monde chose to concentrate on the preparations underway for a future Eataly event in France in its 23 September piece entitled Le distributeur italien Eataly s’implantera en France en 2018 avec l’aide des Galeries Lafayette.
* marked articles viewable online upon payment or registration