Arte x Arte

Art has always fascinated me. It was probably my education, it taught me to appreciate beauty, to enjoy it, to look at it, and sometimes if I could, to learn from it. They also told me to avoid trying to understand it, mystery is fascinating, you don’t need to understand Art, just love it.

Recently everyone feels like an Artist, everyone quote our illustrious predecessors on their Facebook status and feels good, they feel part of it, they feel intellectual. However, Art is about create, it’s about generating emotions, lately for many people it’s just about generating money.

Robeto Coda Zabetta

I can’t blame them, money it’s the way, if you can make a profit out of something you know how to do it, do it. However, if I could I would short sell all contemporary art, I’m pretty sure I would make huge profit out of it. Most artist has lost passion, has lost the real goal of something so supreme, so pure. The treat it as a mean to an end, instead of as a process of learning, of discovering you soul, of being naked in your canvas.

D. LaChapelle

The crude realism of a picture of Henri Cartier-Bresson can’t be compared to any of the picture we cann see on Flickr, they are good piece of work, still in their puerile stage though. Art moves on, Cartier-Bresson has become LaChapelle, Robert Capa is Terry Richards.  If you like paintings better Hirst is the new Fontana, yes the painter who cut the canvas, a pur genius, the man that brought art outside that little box delimited by the canvas.

If you want to play with it for money, do it for creating value out of something in which you believe. Don’t speculate, don’t mix something pure for simple revenues on a bank account. Numbers are clear, people are interested, and that why here museums are free, that’s why Leonardo’s exhibition is pre-booked until mid January, €2 billion of insurance and visitors queuing everyday, he worth that money. 

Think about it before investing in it. Invest in talent, in what you like, not in what they’ll tell you if will have a value. Art is personal. Art is passion.

Make it yours.

Vale

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British media Vs. Italy: That’s Amore

I’ve been enjoying particularly reading the British press lately. Their sort of sense of democracy, possessed by definition considering they all live under the spectrum of the crown, has been reversed on Italy.  I couldn’t agree more with the blog of Marco Niada on Il Sole 24 ore, when he states that in 15 years he has never seen British media so concerned with Italian politics, usually the stereotypical article of the Economist cover more than enough their need of criticize il Bel Paese. However, something new has just happened, something they cannot understand, a Technical Government…wait wait wait Technical…wow.

I’ll just show you an ironic example of what I mean:

 Michael Fowke in his Money it’s the way: “Someone by the name of Mario Monti is taking over as prime minister of Italy, in a sort of technocratic coup d'etat. There are some idiots who think this is a good idea.”

Despite the disbelief, this post shows how much he doesn’t understand Italy, the only country capable of have conquered England, incredible but true.

Mario Monti

Italy is facing a strong political crisis, and the 84% of Italian were hoping for a technical government, capable of leading Italy out of the crisis. Mr. Mario Monti has been attacked by the british media for being a man of Europe, a puppet of Goldman Sachs, in reality I just believe he is a man, and every man has his own past, our sons will judge his future.

The reality is that is never enough, first Greece, now Italy’s on the stage. Obviously impossible to be defended from all the analyst, criticizing the public debt, Berlusconi, the spread with the german bund, the corruption, the slow rate of economic increase etcetera, etcetera.

Impossible for them to get the global picture, impossible understanding a country so different and so difficult to govern. Impossible. Therefore, let’s attack Europe, they are so good at it, they don’t want to be part of it, they don’t like it, they don’t have the same currency, but they still dare to speak. The basic massage sent to Europe by the MP Nigel Farage can be shared on some point, however, how dare he saying that a technical government it’s like a puppet government?

This government it’s the only way to escape from a stagnation, from a government too exposed to scandals, women and corruption. They may be technician, but they have always carried out their job in the most effective way possible, and they have all the skills needed to bring Italy back to its splendour. They will need to be strong, stiff and move on, politician won’t like them, perhaps people won’t like them either but they need to carry on for the State own good.

Good Luck,

Vale

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P as Prada

Ok, usually I am more critic, sarcastic, etc. However, today I want to show you an enterprise which represents a way of living, and that hopefully will always shine on this word. Or at least I hope so as long as I’ll see an Italian flag waiving behind their name.

My Lords, ladies and gentlemen…please enjoy the reading

One of the flagships brands of Italianity in the world, Prada was born in 1913 in Milan, founded by the homonymous Mario Prada. Since the beginning it has been identified as a brand capable throughout its history of innovates, create style and influence the fashion industry in the entire world. It was, and remains a brand for the elite, even though it wasn’t highly recognised outside the Italian borders’ until mid 80’s. The wind of innovation started blowing in 1978 when the owner granddaughter, Miuccia, joined the company. During her 30 years of leadership she guided the company through 4 main phases of change:

- Search for a Differential

- Establishing a growth platform

- Aspiration and Acquisition

- Retrenchment and Consolidation

Patrizio Bertelli and Miuccia Prada

The first mission for Miuccia was to differentiate from the other luxury brand. With her partner at the time, and husband at the moment Patrizio Bertelli, decided to appear low profile and don’t show off the brand everywhere. It was such a wise choice, as I always say make it simple. Mr. Bertelli resumed their essence in this sentence:  “To be Prada is to be perfect in every way. The process of making a contemporary product demands a new level of commitment to both handicraft and technology”.

 Then it came the time of establishing a growth platform, which started by the need to create new stores, different from the original in Galleria in Milan. Therefore they commissioned to the renowned architect Roberto Baciocchi the second store in Via della Spiga in Milan, which will be named the green shop. 

Soon after this moment Prada realised this 5 rules about their shops:

1 Variety among stores: “Shops should not be identical”.

2 A variety of spaces: “Prada can be big in small spaces. Nike can only be big in large spaces”.

3 “Space is a marketing tool”. A brand can convey a sense of exclusivity by the perception of its store in the host country.

4 “60 per cent of a business identity remains constant, while 40 per cent changes continually”.

5 The introduction of non-commercial typologies, “Cultural events could be hosted in stores [. . .] Activities other than shopping could take place after store hours”

After that they came up with the idea of creating a new line called Miu Miu, which targeted young and fashion attracted women, and in the late 90’s Linea Rossa, which showed the world their ability to create product extremely technique and luxurious at the same time. By the end of the 1990s, Prada had transformed from being a marginal, domestic and small-scale firm to a multi-national, multi-segment business with a reputation as a leading influence upon fashion trends and consumer taste.

During the late 90’s they also started a new campaign of Acquisition. They bought a part of Fendi in a joint venture with LVMH, Jil Sander, Car Shoe, and last but not least Church.

Epicentre Tokyo, Herzog and de Meuron

Furthermore they created the unique store concept, named Epicentre store. Its function, according to Prada was to “become a device that renews the brand by counteracting and destabilizing any received notion of what Prada is, does, or will become”. The initial idea was to create 3 epicentre stores. The architechts should have taken into consideration trends in global shopping, and should have provide new concepts of new retail tools and apply these to new kinds of stores.

The first commission was given to Rem Koolhaas the famous architect from the OMA studio, and it was opened in Soho, New York. The second was disegned by Herzog and de Meuron opened in Tokyo: probably Prada’s most important market in terms of revenue.  The third and last thus far of the Epicentre stores was opened the following year in Los Angeles. OMA were once again commissioned to design the store on Rodeo Drive, Berverly Hills

Prada Epicentre Store, Soho New York, Rem Koolhaas

Recently it presented itself on the stockmarket in June, making the revolutionary choice of being listed in the Hong Kong stock exchange, instead of the classic MIB of Milan. During the initial public offering (IPO) it launched on the market the 16.5% of the company shares, raising $2,6 Billions. Their symbol on the stock exchange is 1913, the year of foundation. We appreciate the loyalty to tradition.

...And for this time That’s all folks…see you soon

Vale

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EuroWhat?!?

Ok now the time has come. Let’s talk a bit about Europe.

Chappate -Herald Tribune

To my mind Europe it’s a complicated Union of self-centred countries. No one feels European, a French feels French, an Italian feels Italian, a German the boss, etc. Therefore, first of all we should try to understand who rules Europe.

Let’s start considering what the German Federal Constitutional Court kept on repeating: on certain matter the German Parliament maintain full and complete sovereignty, whatever may any European organism deliberate. Thus, we all should listen to the German influent opinion, but Germany doesn’t have to listen to the European one…interesting.

A natural question arise, suggests Ernesto Galli della Loggia on Il Corriere della Sera, is it acceptable that the national interest of a Country member of the Union is effectively conditioned or even forced by foreign governments?   

The Economist Cover - 29th October

Europe main issue is that it pretends to operate as a Federation, but none of the country members completely recognize its authority. The hot topics are discussed among the principal countries’ prime ministers rather than in the European Parliament. Therefore, we don’t have an organism capable of generate a discussion for the own good of the entire Union, and everyone just represents his own interest. This lack of regulation brings the entire Union in one of the most difficult situation ever faced.

For Germany voters, strong of their economic power, which is the result of their country’s post-War economic success, exports and prudent finance, as well described by Laurence Knight on BBC news, may be difficult to accept to pay to rescue other countries debt. However, Germany can’t go back and needs Europe as much as the others. Actually a possible end of the Euro may be drastic for their economics, because it would results in having a very strong currency and being highly penalized in the export, crucial for their economic structure.

N. Sarkozy and A. Merkel

I mostly focused on Germany so far, but France isn’t that different, and they are strong ally in the ruling of Europe at the moment.

There is no solution at the moment, a debate should start, and European Citizen should be involved. Because at the moment there is no one can realistically speak for the common interest of Europe, and even if there were someone, he wouldn’t be listened.

So…good luck Europe, you are getting old and you still miss a Leader.

Vale

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Let’s start again betraying my promise…

As I mentioned in the last post I won’t be loyal, therefore don’t be surprised if I declared I would have spoken about too big to be saved, and I won’t.

Steve Jobs with Apple products

For once there is a valid reason. I have a moral obligation, and whether or not I have a moral doesn’t matter. In fact I have to make a tribute.

I need to make a tribute to: Steve Jobs.

I may understand that everyone is doing it right now, and if so there must be a reason.

I decided to make it because I strongly believe he was one of the greatest leaders of our time.

He was a single man capable of inspire Millions.

However, we don’t make philosophic eulogy here, we talk about money. Nice, little, dirty money. Steve Jobs has been a genius also on that side, transforming a company worth $5 billions in 2000, into a most loved brand in the world with a market cap. of $350 billions today. Just a few days before the death of Jobs Apple overtook ExxonMobil as the first company by Market Capitalization on the stock exchange.

Let’s have a quick look to the capitalization of Apple in recent history, for which we gently thank Il Sole 24 ore.

The History of Apple Capitalization

It all started back in the 80’s. The computer boom era, where the Cupertino based company was one of the pioneers of its sector. During the 90’s their core models kept on improving and becoming better and better. However, they made the difference once the first iPod Mini came on the market, selling 4,500,000 millions of them in a single year. With this boost Apple breached the wall of the 100 billions of market cap. From there on, thanks to all the innovative product brought into the market, such as iPhone, iPad, and so on they reached the first plance in the market capitalization ranking.

It is arguable whether or not it was all merit of its leader. However, it is demonstrated that to achieve certain results Jobs’ charm has been crucial. One of those was the creation of the iTunes store. In order to make it real they had to stipulate contracts with all the major, and find an agreement for all the Copyright issues, and that’s when Steve Jobs used all his influence to bring Apple into the future.

There is no certainty for the future of Apple, but so far…thanks for the gadget

Vale atque vale Steve,

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Everyone has a price

What a better name for a financial blog, the price of betrayal, one of the most famous in history, in fact. 30 Denarii was actually the price paid for the betrayal of Jesus.

I picked it up as a declaration of intent. I won’t be loyal to anyone in this blog, perhaps not even to myself. Nowadays there are other values that seem more fascinating; one of those could be greed. Therefore, I’ll be plenty greedy whether you like it or not. That’s my style, and being politically correct is not an option.

I mentioned greed here above for a precise reason, and the reason is linked to one of our favourite movie characters: Gordon Gekko. Well, some may argue that Gekko is an easy pick. However, somehow, he influenced us all, he incarnated all what we wish to be. He told us greed is good.

O. Grubel

Oswald Grübel must appreciate this motto, thanks to that philosophy he just abandoned his beloved place as the CEO of the Swiss bank empire, also known as UBS. Unfortunately he has to share the prize with the real facilitator of his career progress, Mr. Adoboli. A young trader, he was probably also considered successful until 10 days ago, when suddenly he became our new financial star. 2,3 billion dollars burned, a few people that wish to have his head served on a silver platter, and some punishment that will come for the sake of God.

K. Adoboli

Now what’s the price paid for his action? What’s the price the system will pay for his action?

New questioning about the control measures, rumour about the facility with which all those shares were traded, fine, jail etc.…will this scandal help the system to improve and become better? I doubt it, and thanks God. At least we’ll have something to talk about in the next few weeks. I'll will give you a little spoiler of the next topic.

Are they too big to fail…or too big to be saved?

Vale,

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