Record bond auctions, spread at 6-month lows – The eve of the European summit to set banking criteria brought good news for Italy. Demonstration of the return of investor confidence was seen in recent bond auctions where the Treasury sold €18bn in inflation-linked Italian treasury bonds. According to the French Les Echos, the sale was spectacular (October 19 – L’Italie effectue une levée de dette spectaculaire) and, as the Financial Times pointed out, it was the largest amount ever sold in a single debt offering in Europe (October 18 – Italy raises €18bn in huge bond sale), a very satisfactory boost to public coffers (Wall Street Journal, October 18 – Italy and Spain Win Surprise Bond Relief*).
The logical consequence of the excellent auction results was a drop in the spread between German and Italian 10 year bonds that fell to the lowest level since March, as El Pais reported (October 18 – La prima de riesgo italiana baja a 310 puntos, su menor nivel desde marzo). And, while the worst of the financial crisis seems to be past, Europe has once again started talking about regulations and treaties. The English Independent concentrated on this in an interview with Mario Monti who, at the margins of a meeting with the foreign press, spoke of reform and the process of building the European Union (October 15 – ‘I convinced Thatcher that the Maastricht Treaty was a good idea’).
Style, wine and tourism – As always, the foreign press discussed Italian lifestyles and fashion. The Financial Times was interested in the business side and reported on the prospects of Ermenegildo Zegna, which is growing despite the bumps along the way caused by the slowdown of emerging markets (October 14 – Ermenegildo Zegna expects a bumpy ride). The South China Morning wrote about the style of Fratelli Rossetti, which opened an exhibition of its historic collection in Hong Kong (October 15 – Shoemaker Fratelli Rossetti bares its soul with historic collection from its archives). Mexico’s El Universal also focused on design, reporting on the launch of the brand Alessi in Mexico (October 13 – El diseno italiano llega a México*).
But Italian style is not limited to cloche and accessories: La Vanguardia and The China Post ran pieces on wine, with reviews of Brunello di Montalcino and Ornellaia (La Vanguardia, October 19 – Castello Banfi, Montalcino*; The China Post, October 18 ottobre – Great wines from a great Italian producer). Finally, some interest in tourism was seen in the report of El Pais, which visited the excavations of Pompei to study daily life in that ancient town, and finding traces of elections at the time (October 19 – Elecciones en Pompeya).
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