The good weather, for once, comes from Germany. Indeed, after the Black Monday frost, the European markets were reassured (+0,5% by both Piazza Affari, London and Paris) by the data arriving from beyond the Rhine. The Ifo index, which measures business confidence, is result unchanged compared to April against the forecasts of a slight decrease. But, above all, from the data on economic growth for the first quarter it emerges that domestic demand has finally got underway, contributing two-thirds to the growth of the GDP (+1,5%) while exports, confirming the slowdown in some emerging economies, recorded a more modest +0,5%.
The recovery of German domestic demand is undoubtedly good news for Italy. The signals arriving from Athens are even more comforting: after the strong insistence of the partners, overcoming the delays, the Greek Government has finally started the procedure for the sale of the stake in Ote, in the post office and in the port of Piraeus. The quotation of the euro regains oxygen, rising above 1,40 against the dollar and the default risk of the weakest area of the eurozone is moving away, albeit slightly, which would inevitably put Italy under pressure, as Alastair Wilson recalls, Moody's manager for the EMEA area. And as Giulio Tremonti is well aware of who, reveals the New York, was the most ruthless critic in the meeting of May 6 on Greek defaults.
THE RECOVERY OF FIAT
The Lingotto stock, the most targeted on Black Monday, rebounds (+2%). During the day, Sergio Marchionne will celebrate "payoff day", i.e. the repayment of debts owed to the US and Canadian governments by Chrysler. Yesterday, speaking to reporters at the inauguration of one of the 58 new Fiat sales branches overseas, Marchionne himself said that the company intends to raise Chrysler's share capital up to 76% (negotiations are underway with the Uaw union, which owns most of the shares) to then proceed, within the year, with the IPO of the remaining 24 per cent.
Positive day also for oil companies, Eni (+0,9%), Saipem (+1,2%) in the wake of the rebound in crude oil. The six-legged dog announced the acceleration of projects for the development of the Iraqi Zubair field: another 68 wells will be drilled to bring production from the current 270 to 700 barrels.
Banca Intesa's decline slowed down (-0,1%), but the lesser pressure on the bond market (the return on BTPs stable at 4,79%) was not reflected in the rest of the banking sector. The exception is Mediobanca (+0,8%), which is also engaged, apparently successfully, in setting up a financial network of investors ready to join Bpm at the time of the capital increase. On the contrary, made in Italy re-emerges: +1,2% Luxottica after the acquisition of a chain of 270 points of sale in South America and Tod's (+2%).
On the other hand, Maire Tecnimont does not recover, yesterday down 1.7 percent. Over the past month, the company's stock has lost 45 percent in value, a landslide that certainly cannot be explained by the political turmoil in North Africa or the Middle East.
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