Money Buzz! Europa

Category: Milan

  • Young users to top up their exchange account directly at the supermarket checkout

    Young users to top up their exchange account directly at the supermarket checkout

    For Young customers, an Italian fintech startup operating in the cryptocurrency industry, after the collaboration with viacash, a new top-up method is now available as an alternative to the traditional bank transfer.

    Users will be able to top up their exchange account directly at the supermarket checkout.

    There are over 600 affiliated shops between Penny Market and Pam distributed across the country.

    The customer need to geolocate in the chosen Penny Market or PAM store, insert the amount you want to load and generate a barcode to show at the checkout. At this point you can complete the payment in cash. 

    The opportunity to top up your account at the supermarket is an addition to the recent introduction of debit cards, credit cards and Apple Pay to purchase the main cryptocurrency in a simple and immediate way.

    Young is an Italian fintech startup based in Turin and London which mission is to make the world of cryptocurrency accessible.

    The startup has reached an evaluation of 10 million Euros, launching 2 crypto-exchanges on the market.

  • Italian motorcycle manufacturer Ducati records best third quarter ever

    Italian motorcycle manufacturer Ducati records best third quarter ever

    Ducati, with 14.694 motorcycles sold, registers the best third quarter ever. In fact, September confirmed the recovery trend that began in June, with 4.468 motorcycles delivered to customers.

    The Panigale, Ducati Scrambler and Multistrada families had the best results in September. China, Switzerland and Germany, from the beginning of the year to the end of September, recorded higher sales compared to the same period in 2019

    Since April, the company introduced a dedicated protocol – the Ducati Cares program – so that Ducatisti could return to visit their Ducati dealers around the world in complete safety, as well as digitally interact to book an appointment or evaluate the purchase of a motorcycle remotely.

    Ducati has a global sales network of about 730 dealers and service points in almost 90 countries, including the latest openings in Rio de Janeiro, Vienna, Wolfsburg and Antwerp.

    The company has a total of 1.665 employees.

  • Google investigated in Italy for abuse of a dominant position in the online advertising market

    Google investigated in Italy for abuse of a dominant position in the online advertising market

    Italy’s antitrust regulator announced on Wednesday that it is investigating the American giant Google for abusing its dominant position in the online advertising market.

    Google is suspected of using the data it has collected through its own applications to stop rival operators from competing effectively.

    The investigation would be completed by November 2021.

    The institution states that online advertising sales are the second most important source of revenue in the media sector, and the decrease of competition in the market could deprive publishers and those involved in news sites of very important resources.

    On Tuesday, joint teams from AGCM and Italian police searched some Google headquarters in the country.

    In 2019, the Italian online advertising market recorded revenues of over 3.3 billion euros.

  • SDA Bocconi School of Management to build and deliver online short courses

    SDA Bocconi School of Management to build and deliver online short courses

    SDA Bocconi School of Management signs agreement with 2U to build, deliver and support online short courses in core and emerging business topics.

    With these new short courses, SDA Bocconi and 2U are giving professionals access to the in-demand skills training needed to lead today’s corporations, NGOs, and nonprofits to long-term success. 

    Each of the short courses will be taught in English.

    Participants will be eligible to receive a certificate of completion from SDA Bocconi. 

    ”At SDA Bocconi, we’re training the next generation of business leaders in the skills needed to guide companies to profitability with an emphasis on ethical and sustainable operations,” said Gabriele Trolio, Associate Dean for the Open Market and New Business Division of SDA Bocconi School of Management.

  • Italy’s telecommunications regulator fines Google for betting ads

    Italy’s telecommunications regulator fines Google for betting ads

    Italy’s telecommunications regulator (AGCOM) has fined US giant Google for violating domestic law banning gambling and betting ads.

    The Authority found that Google Ireland, owner of the Google Ads service, has allowed, through the online advertising service, the dissemination, upon payment, of links that direct to certain sites (landing pages), in violation of the rules to combat gambling disorder.

    In particular, the company, through its own search engine www.google.com, has spread the paid announcement of the sublimecasino.com site which carries out gaming and betting activities with cash winnings.

    Sources who wished to remain anonymous told Reuters that the fine was about 100.000 euros ($ 118.250).

  • Whirlpool plant in Naples will be closed on October 31

    Whirlpool plant in Naples will be closed on October 31

    Whirlpool plant in Naples will be closed on October 31, the American home appliance manufacturer announced, despite the Italian Government’s attempts to maintain the activity of the unit.

    Whirlpool has 450 employees, in a region with one of the highest unemployment rates in Italy, ANSA and Reuters reported.

    The future of the Naples unit has been a source of tension between Whirlpool and Italian authorities, who say the closure violates previous agreements.

    Whirlpool officials say the Naples plant is not economically sustainable.

    Naples mayor, Luigi de Magistris, called on the government to ”do everything possible to avoid disaster”.

    Last year, Whirlpool reported that the production of washing machines in Naples is no longer profitable and it intends to sell the plant.

  • Enel X launched its own online banking account and payment app

    Enel X launched its own online banking account and payment app

    Enel X makes its debut in the digital financial services and mobile banking sector with Enel X Pay, the online banking account from Enel X Financial Services.

    The partnership with Mastercard enables users to make fully secure payments and transfers in real time directly via smartphone app.

    They can have a digital or physical card and monitor the transactions and spending of the whole family.

    Enel X Pay is a native digital account, involving a card and an Italian IBAN, which allows users to perform multiple types of transactions: from the payment of bills, taxes and duties of the Public Administrations signed up to Italy’s pagoPA circuit, to SEPA transfers, from the peer-to-peer transfer of money with no additional costs, to donations aimed at solidarity initiatives to third sector associations like Save the Children, Food for Soul and Doctors without Borders.

    Users can manage the Enel X Pay banking account directly from the app bundled with a digital and physical card.

    The card is made out of plant-based bio-plastic and is linked to Mastercard, the key international payment circuit with over 52 million points of acceptance around the world.

  • Italian brand Steel Cucine plans four new stores in China

    Italian brand Steel Cucine plans four new stores in China

    Steel Cucine confirms plans for its expansion in China by opening four new stores apart from the Shanghai flagship store, as Class Editori reported for BREIP.

    The four new flagship stores are in Changozhou, Yan- tai, Shenyang and Qingdao. Steel Cucine Shanghai flagship store had been inaugurated a few months ago.

    A commercial agreement signed by Steel Cucine with the Chinese partner Shanghai Zhizhong Co. Ltd includes the exclusive distribution of the products Steel and Lancellotti-branded, a brand created to land in the North American market.

    Since 1966, Steel Cucine has been recording a turnover of almost €5 million and focusing its production on the models of large, high-design kitchens, especially requested in America and in Arab countries.

  • SPAR Italy launches more eco-friendly products under green own brand range

    SPAR Italy launches more eco-friendly products under green own brand range

    The newly redeveloped product lines in the DESPAR Scelta Verde EcoLogico range include tissues, napkins, toilet paper and kitchen paper, as well as disposable cups and plates.

    SPAR Italy’s DESPAR Scelta Verde EcoLogico range includes products with a low environmental footprint.

    The tissue range is made from 100% recycled paper, with the packaging made of Mater-bi, a biodegradable and compostable material. All products in the range are Eco Label certified.

    DESPAR Scelta Verde EcoLogico plates and glasses, also packaged in Mater-bi, are made with materials of natural origin. The vegetable fibre plates and their packaging are biodegradable and compostable as green waste.

    PLA, an innovative bioplastic derived from the transformation of sugars and other natural materials, is used for the glasses sold in the line.

    The hot beverage cups are made of CPLA, a bioplastic that is resistant to high temperatures.

  • The Italian executive estimates an economic growth of 6% in 2021

    The Italian executive estimates an economic growth of 6% in 2021

    The Italian government published on Tuesday morning an update of the macroeconomic projections for 2020 and 2021 and estimates that next year the growth of the economy will be 6%, the deficit of 7% of the Gross Domestic Product and the debt of 155.6% of GDP, EFE reports.

    The Italian executive confirmed the estimates advanced last week for 2020: the economy will shrink by 9%, the deficit will stand at 10.8% of GDP and the debt at 158% of GDP.

    Authorities expect growth to be 3.8% in 2022 and 2.5% in 2023, while the budget deficit will be 4.7% of GDP in 2022 and 3% in 2023.

    Italy is committed to gradually reducing its debt to ”bring it back to pre-coronavirus levels” by the end of the decade. Currently, it is estimated at 154.3% of GDP in 2022 and 154.1% in 2023.

    Italy must send the draft budget and reform plan to the European Commission by mid-October.

    In the short term, measures are being considered to support employees and the productive sectors affected by the coronavirus pandemic, but will also include ”deep and high-impact investments and reforms”, such as ”a comprehensive fiscal reform that improves equity, efficiency and the transparency of the tax system”, to reduce the tax burden on families and to fight against evasion.

    There will be aid for families with children, support for digitalisation and infrastructure, all this ”at the same time as the constant reduction of public debt”.

  • Italy: Unemployment rate down to 9.7% (-0.1%)

    Italy: Unemployment rate down to 9.7% (-0.1%)

    In August 2020, in Italy, employment continued the growth already began in July and unemployment decreased, while inactivity kept on dropping, latest Istat data show.

    On a monthly basis, the increaseof employment (+0.4%, +83 thousand) concerned both men (+0.5%, +72 thousand) and women (+0.1%, +11 thousand), leading the employment rate to 58.1% (+0.2p. p.).

    In the last month, the drop of unemployed people (-0.9%, -23 thousand) involved only women (-3.0%, -36 thousand), where as men grew (+0.9%, +12 thousand).

    The unemployment rate decreased to 9.7% (-0.1 percentage points) while the youth rate increased to 32.1% (+0.3p.p.).

    In August the decline of inactive people aged 15-64 (-0.5%, -65 thousand) concerned only men (-1.7%, -85 thousand), while for women a rise was recorded (+0.2%, +20 thousand); the inactivity rate went down to 35.5% (-0.1 percentage points).

  • MotorK receives €10 million in equity and debt

    MotorK receives €10 million in equity and debt

    MotorK raised a fundraising of more than 10 million Euros between equity and debt to further accelerate its growth in the post covid low touch economy. 

    Real Web led the investment round. Instead illimity, the high-tech bank specialized in SME credit, is the sole provider for the debt facility.

    MotorK plans to expand its skills into the digital auto customer journey with the aim of supporting the industry disruption.

    This new financing will allow the company to fast-track the release of new digital and technological tools consolidating the wide marketing suite range of products and services already available to dealerships and manufacturers.

    The capital raised will also be used to strengthen the international team.

    MotorK’s new backers thus join the pre-existing shareholders: 83North and Zobito, two prestigious venture capital firms, and the European Investment Bank, which granted MotorK a €30 million credit line at the end of 2018 to support Research & Development investment.