#SoseXpress - Press review July 11th/17th

Today the meeting of the European Countries about the proposal of the #NextGenerationEu Commission. Courage, ambition, unity. And a little bit fortune, #venerdì17 (#Friday 17th).

Paolo Gentiloni, European Commissioner for Economy, on his Twitter profile about next European Council.

 The debate of ideas

 

Enterprises 4.0: COVID impact and prospects (according to Politecnico di Milano).

“To produce in COVID times means to accept a new challenge. In this context, digital technologies must improve efficiency and competitiveness (as “Industria 4.0” stated) adopting safety measures and in a scenario of considerable uncertainty. Here the in-depth article about the analysis by Politecnico di Milano concerning enterprises 4.0 and their resilience capacity.

 

Taxation? Simple and fair, says Europe.

The European Commission published the proposal, including the measures aiming to support EU growth through fair and simple taxation. The goal is to improve transparency and contrast fiscal frauds more severely. Here to access the contents.

 

Research, the Italian paradox.

Since 2001 the Italian scientific production has overcome the international average according to published articles and the impact of publications. The paradox? The results do not affect universities’ ranking. Here an in-depth article by LaVoce.info.

Studies, researches and numbers

 

Third Economic Bulletin 2020 of Bank of Italy.

According to the Institute, the effects of pandemic continue to weigh on the global economy. In recent weeks, there have been signs of a recovery, but the risks are still significant. Since May, the epidemic has intensified in some emerging economies and the United States. The expansionary measures have helped ease the strains on the financial markets, which remain sensitive to the news about the spread of contagion. Here for an in-depth article

 

The European GDP will reach the pre-Covid levels only in 2022.

According to an analysis of the International Monetary Fund, the European GDP will return to the levels of 2019 in two years. Only detecting an effective treatment or a vaccine in a short time will recovery be more rapid. Here to access the reflection.

 

Survey on inflation and growth expectations: the report by Bank of Italy is online.

According to the survey conducted by the Bank of Italy, the firms’ assessments of the general economic situation in the second quarter of 2020 worsened compared with the previous survey conducted in March. Short-term sales expectations are instead less pessimistic, as are those on their operating conditions.  Most firms indicated that their turnover had suffered a reduction due to the pandemic. They expect that their business will return to the levels prevailing before the health crisis in slightly less than one year. Here for further information.

 

IMF: For Italian SMEs defaults could triple.

In view of G20, the International Monetary Fund published a note warning Italy about the SMEs’ default risk, above all, in the service sector. The Fund urged to provide support to firms, workers, and families, maintaining financial stability through measures supporting the economy. Here access to the source.

 

The European Macroeconomic situation according to Eurostat.

The Eurostat statistics update about the macroeconomic situation of the European Union, the Euro area, and Member Countries is online. Based on the Principal European Economic indicators (PEEIs), the publication is available here.

 

The industrial production in Europe: the data of May.

In May, when the Member States began to lose the measures to halt the spread of Covid, the industrial production increased by 12,4% in the euro area and by 11,4% in EU compared to April.

 

Bank of Italy: focus on the Country’s public debt.

In May, Public Administrations’ debt increased by 40,5 billion Euros compared to the preceding month, amounting to 2.507,6 billion Euros. The Bank of Italy released these data in the monthly dossier dedicated to public finance, available here.

 

SVIMEZ: prospects for the North-South and effects of the Government’s measures.

Covid-19 shock stroke a Mezzogiorno in recession that had not returned yet to the levels before the 2008 crisis as regards production and employment. In 2020 the GDP drop is more severe in the Center-North (-9,6%), reaching unexpected levels in Mezzogiorno (-8,2%). The effects on unemployment are extremely worrying in Mezzogiorno where 380 thousand jobs were lost in 2020. Some SVIMEZ analyses of the 2020/2021 report are available here.

 

More credit for enterprises and households according to ABI.

According to ABI monthly report about the evolution of financial and credit markets and the most significant economic and financial phenomena, enterprises and families are looking for liquidity.

 

Italian business demography in the period 2013-2018 according to ISTAT.

Business demography estimates the enterprise population and the factors that change business structure according to the period. It aims to identify demographic components such as births and deaths of enterprises, their survival, and development in the long term considering some characteristics such as sectoral size and structure. Here the access to the tables.

 

Foreign trade: increase in exports and imports.

According to ISTAT, in May 2020, both exports and imports increased. The increase was stark for outgoing flows (+35,0%) and more moderate for ingoing flows (+5,6%). The sharp monthly export increase is due to the sale increase towards extra-EU countries (+36,5%) and EU-area countries (+33,7%). Here for further information.

 

Covid-19 impact on SMEs of OECD area.

The Future of Business Survey, a partnership between OECD, the World Bank, and Facebook, is online. Despite the crucial impact of the lockdown adopted in many of the 50 Countries analyzed in the survey, several SMEs remain optimistic about their future. Click here to consult the report.

 

Investments and Covid: the scenario according to UN.

UNCTAD, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, published the new report dedicated to international investment dynamics in the post-pandemic scenario. An essential factor characterizes all Countries of the world: competition to attract investments is increasingly strong and differences, also as regards digital skills, more evident.

 

Industrial turnover and orders, ISTAT update.

According to ISTAT in May, the seasonally adjusted industrial turnover increased by 41.9% compared to the previous month; the average of the last three months decreased by 33.0% compared to the preceding three months.

 

Update of the consumer price index.

ISTAt published the note on the Italian consumer price. In June, the index increased by 0,01% on monthly basis and decreased by 0,2% on an annual basis (as in the preceding month).

 

Venture Capital Monitor: the numbers of the Italian startup companies are online.

In the first quarter of 2020, venture capital deals amounted to 57 and included start-up or scale-up companies’ financing and capital increases in portfolio companies. The data, released by the thematic observatory of the LIUC Business School, are available here.

 

Financial market statistic update.

The monthly publication by the Bank of Italy dedicated to the financial market was released. In June, the gross yields to maturity on 10-year BTPs decreased by 30 points.

The voice of Stakeholders

The economic situation according to Confocommercio: we move forward, but with difficulty.

Notwithstanding almost all activities are now operational, and the domestic mobility restrictions have been removed, progressively also in the Schengen area, the recovery remains difficult and complicated. The economic effects, even if considerable, leave the business activity on very contained levels. Confcommercio explains the issue in the note about the financial situation available here.

 

Holidays in Italy: three privileged destinations and cities of art in a crisis.

According to the survey by Confturismo and Confcommercio about the forecasts regarding the summer holidays, 93% of interviewed will spend the holidays in Italy (16% more than last year). Apulia, Tuscany, and Sicily are the privileged destinations, but the cities of art remain in crisis and rank fourth among the interviewed.

Innovation

 

New normality: update of the “Technology Vision” report by Accenture.

Update of the report about digital trends focusing on virtual experiences: we have made our fill of technology. Now it does not represent an advantage of the company anymore, but it is a fundamental claim.

 

Privacy: all the answers on the “Immuni” app.

The Italian data protection authority published the answers to the frequently asked questions about the “contact tracing” app promoted by the Italian Government.

 

“New Normal”, also at work.

The health emergency has accelerated the progressive transition towards an increasingly technological and digital world, starting from smart working with its advantages and risks. Considerable investments and a precise regulation are, however, necessary. A group of researchers writes about the issue here.

Local Authorities

 

 

The European Waste Catalogue on best practices in waste management is online.

 

Published within the European project “LIFE REthink WASTE,” the report illustrates 12 recent and exemplary experiences to improve the local waste management performance. Here access to the catalogue.

 

Greenlight to equalization funds for Local Authorities.

The extraordinary meeting of the State-Cities and Local Autonomies Conference has defined an agreement about the criteria and the distribution modalities of 2,1 billion based on a methodological note elaborated with SOSE support.

The world of MEF

An efficient and fair system to support recovery. MEF published online the official guidelines for fiscal policies.

Roberto Gualtieri, Minister of Economy and Finance, signed the guidelines for fiscal policies in 2020-2022. To improve the fiscal system’s governance, support the Country’s growth and improve the quality of the services provided to taxpayers-users, enhance tax compliance, fight tax evasion and ensure legality are the main goals of the Guidelines available here. 

 

Update of the Liquidity Implementation Task Force.

The applications for moratoriums on loans have remained numerous, over 2,6 million for 290 billion euros. The applications for guarantees on new bank loans submitted by MSMEs to the Central Guarantee Fund for SMEs were more than 830.000. The “Garanzia Italia” of SACE granted guarantees for 9 billion euros based on 215 applications received. Here the note.

 

Update of Tax and social security revenues.

Tax and social security revenues in the first five months of 2020 show a decrease of 8,4% (-22.268 million euros) compared to the same period of 2019. The data take into account the reduction of 7,7% (-12.908 million euro) in the social security revenues and the decrease of 9,5% (-9.360 million euros) in the tax revenues. Here for further information.

 

Electronic invoicing, debate underway.

The opinion of the Italian data protection authority about electronic invoicing and personal data protection risks aroused polemics. Here the opinion that stimulated the debate, here a reconstruction of the different ideas and here a clarification of the Italian data protection authority on the issue.