Asia responds to Wall Street records. The Dow Jones broke the barrier of 14 points on Friday evening, closing at 14.009. The Standard & Poor's index, at 15013, has doubled its level since the lows of March 2009. The Nasdaq +1,18% led the race in the last session of the week.
This morning the Asian lists repeated the script: the Nikkei index rises by 0,72%, Hong Kong scores +0,40%. The stock markets are driven by the data from Japanese quarterly reports (69% exceeded estimates) and, above all, by the data from Chinese non-manufacturing companies, which confirm the recovery.
Great expectations for the data on American industrial orders, arriving in the early afternoon from Wall Street galvanized on Friday by the surge in America of the ISM manufacturing sector index, which jumped to 53,1 from 50,7, when expectations they gave stable. The index signals the forecasts of purchasing managers of industrial companies on business development in the coming months.
The data is so good as to have erased the disappointment for a still suffering labor market: only 157 new jobs in January, against expectations of 165, and unemployment growing to 7,9% from 7,8%. But this too is a guarantee that the expansive policy is destined to last quite a while.
ITALY
Piazza Affari reopens its doors after the first setback (-2,3%) which interrupted a cycle of four consecutive weeks of increases. Judicial and financial shocks contributed decisively to reversing the trend: less than a month before the elections, with magistrates, Consob and the Bank of Italy grappling with a banking scandal whose boundaries are not clear, the Italy risks returning back to the black book of international investors.
The investigation into Mps enters a new phase this morning with the summons of Giuseppe Mussari to the premises of the Siena prosecutor's office. But the news that has opened the tap of sales on Italian banks is that the Prosecutor of Trani has opened an investigation into the use of derivatives by MontePaschi, Bnl (Bnp Paribas group), Credem, Intesa and Unicredit. The hypotheses of crime are usury and fraud. The sales involved only the stock market. On the government bond market, the situation is calm with the 10-year BTP closing the week with a stable yield of 4,31% and the spread unchanged at 264.
EUROPA
Banking scandals are not exclusive to Italy. This morning, according to the Financial Times, the financial director of Barclays, Chris Lucas, will resign, struck by the investigation whereby in 2009 Qatar became a shareholder of Barclays through funds loaned by the same British bank.
The Dutch state has nationalized Sns Reaal, a banking and insurance group in great difficulty, with an operation which involved an outlay of 3,7 billion euros. This was announced by the finance minister, Jeroen Dijsselbloem, president of the Europgroup. The Netherlands has decided not to reimburse either the shareholders or the holders of subordinated bonds (present in various financial products also in circulation on the Italian market). The decision, Fitch threatens, could lead to the loss of the triple A for the Netherlands and the relegation for the entire credit sector of the European Union. A bitter confrontation is looming with rating agencies and large financial institutions.
The overall index of the Stoxx600 European Stock Exchanges closed the week down by 0,4%. Almost all sectors rose on Friday (Tech +2%, Auto +1,6%), with the exception of Banks (-0,4%).
IN THE PLACE OF BUSINESS
After Clint Eastwood, the voice of Oprah Winfrey. This year Fiat/Chrysler has entrusted the commercial on the Jeep for the Super Bowl, the most watched program in the USA, to the most famous star of US TV who, in the video, explains the donation of one million dollars to war veterans' associations by of the company. The voice of Paul Harvey, a radio journalist who died in the 70s, instead sings the virtues of peasant America, who today rides Jeeps and Rams, the flagships of the group. In Italy, Sergio Marchionne reiterates: thanks to the luxury pole within three years full employment for all Fiat employees and merger with Chrysler by 2014.
(Perhaps) decisive week for the sale of Telecom Italia Media.
The final decision is expected to be made by the board at Thursday's meeting. Two offers are in the running: Cairo Communications (for the networks only, while the multiplexes would remain in the Telecom group); the private Clessidra ready to take over the entire company. The week ended with a difficult session for bank stocks: Unicredit – 2,5%, Intesa -2,9%. Ubi -0,9%. MontePaschi plunged 5,9% down. In the midst of this series of declines, Banca Pop made history in itself. Milan flew up 9,5% thanks to rumors according to which the president Andrea Bonomi presented a plan to transform the bank into a joint stock company to the unions.
Here is a brief review of Friday's main movements in Piazza Affari: Autogrill rose by 4,5%: the company confirmed in a press release that it is studying the separation of catering activities from commercial ones in airports (Duty Free). StM gained 3,9%: today several brokers raised their target price after management yesterday gave more detailed indications on the forthcoming exit from the St-Ericsson joint venture. Ferragamo rose 5,5% after announcing strong revenue growth (+17%) in 2012. Along with Ferragamo, other luxury stocks rose: Tod's +2,2%, Luxottica +1,4%.
Mediaset +1,3%: according to press rumors, the Berlusconi family could sell an important package (10%) to an international operator in the sector. Impregilo gained 1,8% after the Antitrust gave the go-ahead to merge with Salini. After yesterday's recovery, Saipem returned to decline, -3,8%. Today the top management of the company are summoned to Consob as part of the investigation into the sales that preceded the profit warning.
London, the sheriff of the Stock Exchange, the FSA, is ready to launch an investigation at the request of his Italian colleagues. The reason is simple: the sale of the 2,3 percent stake took place in London, with a placement organized by Bofa-Merrill Lynch on behalf of one or more subjects, whose identity the investment bank did not want to reveal. identity.
