Stabler banks – IntesaSanpaolo and Unicredit, the two major Italian banks, announced a high growth of profits for the third quarter of the year (Wall Street Journal, November 12 – Italy’s Two Biggest Banks Post Strong Profit Growth*), showing the solidity that was previously seen in European stress tests (November 11 suBloomberg Businessweek – Top Italian banks healthier after EU test; and New York Times – Italy’s Biggest Banks Benefit From Stress Test).
The foreign press paid particular attention to the results of the two credit institutions (722 million of profit for UniCredit, and 483 million for Intesa) and their commitment to helping the Italian economy (November 11 in Reuters –UniCredit net profit beats forecasts, confirms target and the Wall Street Journal, – Intesa Sanpaolo Posts Rise in Third-Quarter Profit*)
Luxury and fashion: the economic prospects of Made in Italy – There were numerous articles on economic and industrial strategies of Made in Italy brands. Reuters gave some details on the stockmarket quotation of Ferrari Ferrari (November 11 – Fiat Chrysler CEO sees Ferrari IPO in second quarter-third quarter of 2015), and the clothing chain OVS OVS (November 10 – Italy’s OVS expects to launch IPO in H1 next year), as well of the increase of the king of cashmere Brunello Cucinelli (November 11 –Brunello Cucinelli 9-mth core profit up 6.6 pct on higher sales). The Spanish paper Expansion reported on how Morellato is interested in the new watches of the Spainish brand Pepe Jeans (November 7 – Morellato fabricará los relojes de Pepe Jeans), and the Wall Street Journal ran a piece on Audi’s use of Italian styling for sports line design by PZero, the fashion line of Pirelli (November 10 – Volkswagen Seeks Another Dose of Italian Chic). There was also interest in luxury craftsmanship, such as the furniture and jewels of Osanna Visconti, which the New York Times Magazine examined in the designer’s Milan showroom (November 10 –An Italian Designer Branches Out).
Tourism: investment and itineraries – The foreign press also turned its attention to the tourism sector. There were the usual suggestions of places to visit, including Rome (Bloomberg Businessweek, November 7 – The Colosseum: Ancient ruin or modern venue?; New York Times Magazine, November 11 – Hollywood on the Tiber*), Bologna (The Sunday Times, November 9 – The big weekend: Bologna*), and Alto Adige, where there are six different museums of the mountain, born of an idea by Reinhold Messner (Financial Times, November 7 – Reinhold Messner’s legacy project – six museums in the Alps*).
Last week, however, there was also interest in the sectors economic aspects. The Financial Times reported on the investment by Fondo Strategico Italiano in Rocco Forte Hotels, as part of the national sovereign fund plan to develop tourism (November 8 – Italian sovereign wealth fund buys 23% of Rocco Forte Hotels*). Other papers concentrated on the new plans for Alitalia, as European approval for sale comes up (Reuters, November 12 – EU regulators set to approve Etihad’s 49 percent buy of Alitalia: sources) with the appointment of new company managers (Les Echos, November 7 – Un tandem Montezemolo-Hogan désigné à la tête d’Alitalia-source; Washington Post, 6 – Former Ferrari chairman headed to Alitalia).
* marked articles viewable online upon payment or registration