Bags on the roller coaster, Milan collapses. Indices suspended for technical reasons

At 16 pm also the calculators of Borsa Italiana raise the white flag. For about twenty minutes, the Ftse/Mib index stops at -2,53%. Then, when we start again, the decline is even more profound: -5,16%, a few decimals worse than Frankfurt -3,12, one point lower than Paris - 2,14. Proof that the crisis in the markets of the Old Continent, far from receding, is more acute than ever.
Confirmation comes from all markets. The deep red of the share price fades into the background in the face of the new abyss on the public debt front: the yields of the ten-year BTP have risen above the threshold of 6,243 per cent, while the BTP/Bund spread stands at 382 basis points. Even more significant, at least on a psychological level, yesterday Italy was joined in the risk ranking by Spain: investing in the Bonos of Madrid presents, in the eyes of investors, the same degree of risk as Italian securities. And yet, just today Madrid offered, with rising yields, a good absorption of demand, 3,5 billion of 3- and 4-year bonds at auction. Italy, on the contrary, has renounced the August auction and is contemplating new postponements, if possible. Finally, completing a terrible day, the euro wavered, now one step away from parity with the Swiss franc (1,0890), on the day of the ECB directorate meeting.
Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet's press conference was the fuse that ignited the afternoon in deep red. Trichet, faced with "particularly high uncertainty", announced two initiatives: an exceptional refinancing operation for next August 9, in response to the "renewed tensions on some markets in the euro area", plus new liquidity "on tap ”, for the next six months. Furthermore, the Central Bank has resumed buying government bonds, in particular from Ireland and Portugal, in line with the program already interrupted in March. A way to solicit, as EU president Manuel Barroso had already done, a greater sense of responsibility on the part of European governments so that purchases of the EFSF fund, perhaps on Italian and Spanish securities, are activated before the scheduled date of the end of September.
The Treasury has also denied rumors of cancellations of the month-end auctions (as implied by Silvio Berlusconi) saying that the usual calendar will be followed. But before then, Trichet stresses, Italy must hurry to put the accounts in order. “Reforms are necessary for Italy – he added – above all in terms of taxation”. "It is important for Italy to reduce public spending and achieve its deficit goals." Everyone in Europe is expressing concern and alarm. But Silvio Berlusconi, at the end of the meeting with the social partners, is not impressed by the collapse of the price lists. “My father – he says at the end of the meeting – taught me that stock exchanges are a broken clock: twice a day they show the exact time. For the rest, no." The two times do not correspond to the price of the shares of his companies (Mediaset, Mediolanum and Mondadori), which are real "opportunities", he is keen to clarify. The mood of Giulio Tremonti, from whom came a worrying warning: the sovereign debt crisis in the Eurozone is destined to last if the European Union fails to equip itself with a credible structure. And between the two, confirming the tensions of the moment, there are sparks even at the press conference.
Bank sales are back in Milan. Unicredit loses 9,33%. The day after the presentation of second quarter data higher than expected, the analysts of Societé Générale cut the target price to 1,60 euro from 1,90 euro. Bnp Paribas Exane cuts the target price to 1,35 euro (-10%). Natixis revises it at 1,60 euros from 2,30 euros. Banca Leonardo confirms the underweight recommendation and brings the target price to 1,40 euro from 1,70 euro. Intesa Sanpaolo drops by 10,35%.
This morning Il Messaggero anticipated that the institute led by Corrado Passera is examining a merger project of the structures of Umbria, Marche and Lazio. The plan, which envisages savings between 10 and 15%, will arrive tomorrow on the table of the management board convened for the quarterly. Monte Paschi loses "only" 4,06%. Insurance companies are also bad (but with better performances than banks): Generali -3,15%, Fondiaria Sai -3,82%, Unipol -0,23%. Enel marks a drop of 2,76%. Yesterday evening it announced that it had closed the second quarter with an Ebitda of 4,53 billion euros, the consensus was expecting 4,25 billion euros. Net income was also better than expected, reaching 1,35 billion euro (expected at 1,06 billion euro). Enel announced a further cost-cutting plan and confirmed the achievement of the 2011 targets. Ubs confirmed the Buy recommendation. Eni is down by 2,33% while the price of oil moves to the lows of the last four weeks: futures on the WTI at 90,8 dollars a barrel (-1,2%), is the fifth consecutive decline. Tenaris-7%: this morning the pipe company announced that it closed the second quarter with a profit of 287 million dollars from 282 million dollars in the same period of 2010, the figure is far below analysts' forecasts. Tenaris blamed a decline in sales in Canada, a decline in deepwater pipe deliveries and rising raw material costs. Finmeccanica, -2,58%, this morning received the double rejection of HSBC (neutral rating from owerweight) and Deutsche Bank (target price halved to 5,4 euros). Stm yields 4,62%. Fiat -6,14% and Fiat Industrial -9,15%. Speaking yesterday at a conference in Traverse City, Michigan, Sergio Marchionne said that until 2015 he will certainly remain CEO of Fiat. Diasorin loses 3,45%: following the release of quarterly data, Cheuvreux changed his mind on the medical company's prospects and changed the rating from underperform to outperform. Interpump is down -10,44% in Midex. Mediobanca lowered its recommendation to neutral, yesterday the pump company presented the data for the quarter. Brembo -7,24%, Astaldi -1,84% falls again despite growing accounts. Among the small caps, Prelios is down 5%, Maire Tecnimont -6%. Positive notes for Pierrel +2,7.