Economy – On the business pages, international dailies are focusing on the growth plans of two Italian groups: Intesa Sanpaolo and Ferrari. “The number-one Italian bank,” explains Les Echos, aims to reach € 6 billion in profits by no later than 2021 (February 6 – Le plan d’Intesa San Paolo pour relancer sa croissance*), thereby becoming, according to Financial Times, “one of the top banks in Europe” (February 6 – Intesa unveils new strategy to boost growth). The City’s business daily also devotes a comment in its column Lex to Intesa, explaining the ambitions for the new business plan’s “Florentine Renaissance” (February 6 – Intesa Sanpaolo: flowering). The German financial newspaper Boersen Zeitung, on the other hand, interviews the Managing Director, Carlo Messina, who during his term “has doubled the bank’s value” on the stock exchange (February – Führungsrolle in Europa angestrebt*).
Clear growth programmes are also reported for Ferrari which, The Washington Post reports, has seen profits rise 34% during 2017 (February 1 – Ferrari 2017 profits soar as sales near 8,400 vehicles*). And as Reuters reports, Ferrari aims to double earnings by no later than 2022 (February 1 – Ferrari sees core earnings doubling to 2 bln euros no later than 2022), also wagering on hybrids and new SUV models (February 1 – Ferrari turns to hybrids, SUVs to double profits by 2022).
The New York Times and Reuters cover Italo and the € 1.9 billion offer from Global Infrastructure Partners III funds, which will buy the majority of the railway operator, thus helping it expand both on the domestic market and abroad (February 5 – Infrastructure Fund GIP Offers 1.9 Billion Euros to Buy Railway Group Italo*; February 7 – Italo shareholders accept GIP’s improved takeover offer, scrap IPO plans) while Le Monde reports the implementation of the France/Italy agreement making Fincantieri the new controlling shareholder of STX (February 4 – Fincantieri prend le contrôle du chantier naval STX).
Fashion – In fashion, the spotlight is on Versace with the show Berlin has dedicated to the designer 20 years after his death (Der Standard, February 7 – Gianni Versace: Der Sonnenkönig lebt!). El Pais Semanal takes the opportunity to interview his sister Donatella, “the great mother of fashion,” and now the leader of the family that, “from zero,” revolutionized the world of luxury” (February 4 – Donatella Versace: “Me daba miedo revivir la muerte de mi hermano”). Germany’s Die Zeit, on the other hand, pays homage to Angela Missoni, “a life dedicated to fashion” (February 7 – Die Patronin*).
Tourism – For tourism, El Pais proposes the “obligatory stops” at which to experience, over the course of a week, the “magical realism” of Sicily (February 2 – Las maravillas de Sicilia en siete días apasionantes), while Le Monde visits Pompei to celebrate the “fruits of the new season” in the management of the “World Heritage” archaeological site (February 2 – Pompéi sur la bonne voie*). In words and images, The New York Times covers the Venice Carnival (February 4 – Venice Carnival Brings Out the Masks, Regattas and Revelry*) while Financial Times, also in the city on the lagoon, recommends purchasing an attic on the Grand Canal, in the “heart” of the masked festival (February 8 – Capture the carnival: 6 homes in the heart of festivals*). Carnival also takes centre stage in food reporting, with Der Standard visiting Tuscany for the traditional recipe for the schiacciata fiorentina typical of this festival (February 6 – Signora Ledis Faschingskuchen: Schiacciata Fiorentina).
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