Italy starting to grow again – Investors are watching Italy and are happy with what they see. In a week marked by political news, the foreign press also turned its attention to economic news. They wrote about hope for the end of the recession in the last quarter of 2013 (February 14 in the Wall Street Journal – Italian Economy Emerges from Slump; Bloomberg –Italian Economy Registers First Quarterly Growth Since 2011); the debt auctions with the lowest rates for the last eight years (Financial Times, February 17 – Italian bond yields fall to eight-year low) and signs of the real economy, starting with the trade surplus, at its highest since 1996 (Le Figaro, February 18 – Italie: hausse de l’excédent commercial). All these factors have convinced the markets to see a positive trend (Wall Street Journal, February 14 – Italian Change ‘Seems Evidence of Progress’ ). This vision is in line with the picture painted by Moody’s, which has improved its opinion of the prospects of the Italian economy (February 14 su Wall Street Journal – Moody’s Changes Italy Outlook to Stable* and Bloomberg – Italy’s Credit-Rating Outlook Raised to Stable by Moody’s).
Fashion Week – International papers turned their spotlight on the beginning of Women’s Fashion Week. The Milan event was opened by Gucci, with Salma Hayek as its testimonial (February 19 in El Pais – Gucci abre la semana de la moda de Milán and Bloomberg Businessweek – Salma Hayek gushes over Gucci’s softness).
The Financial Times explained that – along with the great names in fashion – younger designers, such as Stella Jean e Andrea Incontri, are appearing on the runway (February 14 – New designers set to make an impact at London and Milan fashion shows). And the financial pages reported on other fashion houses, such as Furla. The leather goods firm recently announced its decision to increase sales in China (Bloomberg, February 17 – Italian Handbag Maker Furla Aims to Boost China Sales).
Lifestyle: supercars, cultures and cooking – Fashion aside, interest in Italian lifestyle is growing. First attraction are made in Italy supercars. Ferrari is showing record sales, even though it has decreased production (February 18 in the Globo – Ferrari tem queda nas vendas, mas receita bate recorde ;El Mundo – Ferrari gana 246 millones de euros reduciendo la producción un 5,4%; Expansion –Ferrari gana 246 millones reduciendo la producción un 5,4% en 2013). Lamborghini’s strategy is just the opposite: the company is planning to increase production, but without compromising its image of exclusiveness (Wall Street Journal, February 17 – Lamborghini Chief Looks to Expand*).
Finally, food is in the news, especially if it’s made in Florence. The Daily Beast told the story of the discovery of the ancient cemetery dating back to the 5th century BC (February 15 – The Uffizi’s Secret Mass Grave), New York Times wrote about cooking in the Tuscan capital, giving its readers with the receipt for ribollita (February 19 – Ribollita).
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