Fiat wins the emission race – Last week, there were several articles dedicated to Fiat, a company often discussed in the foreign press. There were pieces on the new “bolide” being produced by Ferrari (Expansion, March 5 – LaFerrari, el nuevo bólido de Ferrari) as well as business news. The Wall Street Journal reported on the merger between the Turin-based company and Chrysler, explaining that Sergio Marchionne is determined to merge the two groups (March 5 – Fiat Chief Presses Chrysler Merger).
Fiat also earned kudos for its position in emission rankings by various car manufacturers. The Spanish El Mundo reported that the Italian automotive firm was the “cleanest” brand in Europe for the low level of CO2 emission of its models (March 7 – Fiat se mantiene como la marca “más limpia” de Europa).
The triumph of Italian fashion and life style – The foreign press was still paying attention to Italian politics, but the foreign press also wrote about Italy’s economy and life study, with articles about Italian businesses and brands. The Financial Times wrote about the success of Yoox, the internet fashion retailer, reporting sales higher even then expected, a demonstration that luxury knows no crisis (March 5 – Yoox proves resilience of luxury goods). Argentina’s La Nacion was more interested in the new ‘green’ styles produced by Gucci. The Florence-based fashion house has entered the arena of sustainable design with a new concept of luxury based on carefully selected leather (March 7 – Gucci y sus nuevas carteras verdes). And while the New York Times went to Tolentino to visit the Poltrona Frau Museum (March 4 –Sitting Pretty | The Poltrona Frau Museum), the Brazilian paper Valor Economico focused on another famous Italian brand: Moleskin notesbooks, about to be listed on the Milan stockmarket (March 5 – Moleskine vai à bolsa de Milão *).
* marked articles viewable online upon payment or registration