On March 15th the merger was approved by the boards of the two companies, based on an exchange ratio of 1 newly issued ordinary share in Atlantia for 9 ordinary shares in Gemina. Atlantia shares seemed to be quite overvalued (8,9x the adjusted EBITDA; 7,5x for Gemina), but since March Read more…
Gold’s fall coupled with worrying macroeconomic data ignited a risk-off sentiment this week, turning investors far more pessimistic. If we add the UK downgrade, usual May sell-in and the weak momentum across markets of last week, we can imagine a bearish scenario for the coming days. In particular, we believe Read more…
The EU financial transaction tax (EU FTT, aka the “Tobin Tax”) The tax that divides Europe. “Any US or Asian institutions trading securities issued in France, Germany, Italy or Spain would also be taxed”. Aims: Raise new revenues for the EU, thus plugging gaps in national budget deficitsand Read more…
Trade idea: short Mediolanum In the next few weeks Italian financials will be under stress in our opinion. Uncertainty is likely to keep ruling the markets for political reasons and macroeconomic fundamentals are still concerning as shown by recent releases of February PMI index (45.8, -2 month on month) or Read more…
In this continuation from the previous newsletter we enter more in depth into the merits of the Monti Bonds as well as explaining the infamous three derivatives contract recently called into question (Alexandria, Santorini and Nota Italia). Monti Bonds Although it could be erroneously believed that Monti Bonds have Read more…
BMPS mkt cap (as of 15/02/13): €2.8bn Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena, the world’s oldest bank (founded in 1472) and Italy’s third biggest lender with €224bn assets, has been at the centre of attention in recent weeks following disclosure that the bank suffered a €730 million loss related to Read more…