The International Image of fashion and industry – Bad times are back for the markets, the spread on sovereign debt bonds is rising and the political scene is on the pages of the foreign press. But Italy’s good name is defended by the success of Made in Italy products. Luxury items play a leading role as usual. While the Financial Times described how Asian markets are pushing up earnings for Italian name brands (April 8 – Luxury goods: style rises in the east*; April 9 – Can China save Made in Italy?), Shanghai Daily wrote on how Italian fashion appeals to clothes-conscious Chinese males (April 6 – Clothes for the stylish Chinese man). But admiration of Italian design is not limited to Asia. As Brasil Economico reports, it is also appreciated in Chicago, where Bottega Veneta is working on the redecoration of the Windy City’s Hotel Park Hyatt (April 10 – Hotel em Chicago tem decoração feita por Bottega Veneta*).
But fashion is not the only subject of interest. Italian industry has also attracted attention: Riello, a company active in the production and sale of burners and cooling systems, is working to grow worldwide, (Financial Times, April 10 – Riello seeks to expand global presence) and Fiat, whose CEO Sergio Marchionne recently visit Argentina to introduce its investments in that Latin American country (Clarin, April 10 – El presidente de Fiat esperó, pero le pudo mostrar sus tractores a Cristina). The agreement between Tim and Generali for the sale of insurance in Brazil via texting has also drawn much attention (Valor Economico, April 9 – TIM fecha acordo para vender seguro via SMS). Finally in France, according to an article in Les Echos, the medical technology group Sorin was selected to realize innovative projects in the health sector. (April 12 – L’italien Sorin retenu dans le cadre des investissements du grand emprunt*).
Leading figures in the worlds of culture and the economy. Italy’s leading economic figures, present in the pages of the foreign press over recent weeks have left some room for a couple of Italy’s major writers. There is mention of Giuseppe Vita’s appointment as president of UniCredit (April 13, Financial Times – Vita is chosen as UniCredit chairman*; Wall Street Journal – Italian Bank Seeks New Life Under Vita) and the Wall Street Journal did pick up on interview of Andrea Beltratti, chairman of the Advisory Board of Intesa Sanpaolo, on the market today (April 11 – Intesa Chairman Sees Upside in Volatile Market*). But the foreign press was also interested in Italian literature. El Pais celebrated “the return of the great Italian novel” to Spain (April 7 – Regreso a la gran novela italiana), and the Argentinean Clarin ran a wide-ranging interview with Alessandro Baricco when he visited Buenos Aires (April 9 – Alessandro Baricco “Si tengo un vicio, es el del del futuro, no el del pasado”).
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