Economy – Last week there were numerous articles about the Italian economy. All told, capital flows to and from Italy continue to create business opportunities. On one hand, there are foreign groups investing in Italian business, like the German company Heidelberg, which is about to purchase the majority share of Italcementi during what the Financial Times calls an extremely dynamic period for corporate Italy. (July 28 – HeidelbergCement takes over Italcementi*; this was also reported in the Wall Streeet Journal, – HeidelbergCement Agrees to Buy 45% Stake in Italcementi*). On the other hand there are Italian groups planning to grow abroad. As Reuters explains, Terna, for example, is looking into opportunities in Latina America and Africa (July 28 – Terna looks to grow power grid business outside Italy), while Sace will work with the Italian branch of the Technip group to help modernize refineries in Egypt (L’Orient le Jour, July 30 – Technip Italy conclut des accords pour 2,9 milliards de dollars).
Moreover, not only do Italian State bonds seem unaffected by the financial turbulence, they were also purchased by one of Spain’s great financial groups – InverCaixa – which prefers them to national bonds (Bloomberg, July 24 – Italian Bonds Catching Eye of Spain’s Largest Investment Manager). There are also high expectations for the stock market debut of one of the emblems of Made in Italy; Ferrari has officially requested admission to the NYSE (Wall Street Journal, July 24 – Ferrari Files for NYSE IPO*; New York Times, July 24 – Luxury Sportscar Maker Ferrari Files for New York Listing*; Bloomberg, July 29 – A Brief Illustrated History of Ferrari, Just in Time for an IPO).
Meanwhile, in the real estate market, foreign investors completed a new operation in Milan: the Chinese group Fosun purchased the former headquarters of UniCredit for 345 million (Financial Times, July 28 – Fosun extends European reach with purchase of former UniCredit HQ*). Finally, as far as earnings are concerned, Bloomberg reported profits above expectations for Generali (July 30 – Generali Net Beats Estimates on Life Earnings; Shares Surge) and the growth of Enel thanks to renewable energy and activities in Latina America (July 30 – Enel Profit Rises on Latin America Demand, Renewables Growth).
Culture – The foreign press also turned its attention to cultural events, first the international breadth of the Venice Film Festival (July 29 – in New York Times – Venice Film Festival to Have a Global Flavor*; El Mundo, July 29 – La Mostra de Venecia se aleja de España y apuesta por 16 directores debutantes). For music, El Pais reviewed the Falstaff that Riccardo Muti conducted at Oviedo, affirming that no one interprets Verdi like the Italian conductor (July 29 – Muti invoca el espíritu burlón de Verdi). Finally, for literature, there was a piece dedicated to Sebastiano Vassalli a few days after his death (El Mundo, July 27 – Fallece el escritor italiano Sebastiano Vassalli).
Tourism – Summertime, and there were numerous travel suggestions. Liberation reported on the newest cable car attracting visitors in the Italian side of Mt Blanc (July 24 – Mont Blanc vs Monte Bianco), while El Pais told its readers about the Italian vacation of Mexico’s First Lady Angélica Rivera (July 28 – Las vacaciones en Italia de Angélica Rivera). The Queen of Spain was also travelling in Italy, and visited Expo in Milan (L’Express, July 24 – La reine d’Espagne s’expose à Milan; El Mundo, July 24 – Doña Letizia, en la Expo de Milán). El Mundo traveled to Rome to examine the “Cagliostra”, the luxury prison inside Castel Sant’Angelo (July 24 – El Castillo de Sant’Angelo reabre la prisión de lujo ‘Cagliostra’ ) and, finally, Le Nouvel Observateur went to discover the Island of Ponza (July 25 – A la découverte de l’île Ponza, terre de grâce au large de l’Italie)
Cuisine – The foreign press also ran several articles on Italian cuisine. The New York Times explained to its readers how to fully appreciate Brunello di Montalcino (July 29 – Brunello di Montalcino’s Balancing Act*), and there were suggestions of good Italian restaurants in New York (New York Times, July 28 – La Pecora Bianca Joins the Italian Crowd*) and Valencia (El Mundo, July 27 – El mejor italiano de Valencia).
* marked articles viewable online upon payment or registration