Economy & Finance

Economy, finance, markets, luxury and geopolitics — macro signals that influence the art market and collecting.

Most recent stories

EBITDA as a Key Metric for Cultural Enterprises in the COVID Age economy-finance
The article explains the relevance of EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization) for cultural enterprises, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.…
Italy's Decreto Rilancio: €50 Million for Culture, Tax Breaks, and a 'Netflix of Culture' economy-finance
On May 13, 2020, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte unveiled the Decreto Rilancio, aimed at reviving the economy amid the COVID-19 pandemic, with specific allocations for…
Florence mayor warns of museum closures amid €190M deficit economy-finance
Florence mayor Dario Nardella has warned that the city faces a €190 million budget shortfall, threatening the reopening of civic museums and theaters. In an interview with…
Italy's €20M Emergency Fund for Performing Arts Excludes Visual Artists economy-finance
On April 22, 2020, Italian Minister of Cultural Heritage Dario Franceschini signed a decree allocating €20 million from the 'Cura Italia' package to performing arts organizations…
Italian cultural sector faces collapse, debate over investment fund economy-finance
The Italian cultural sector faces catastrophic losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with Confcommercio estimating over €52 billion in losses and a 3% GDP drop. Museums, theaters,…
Confindustria warns Italian cultural sector is 'dramatically at breaking point' due to COVID-19 economy-finance
Confindustria Cultura Italia (CCI), the Italian Federation of Cultural Industry, has issued an urgent appeal to the Italian government for additional targeted measures to support…
Italian luxury fashion industry faces COVID-19 crisis economy-finance
In Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Chengdu, over 80% of shopping malls and supermarkets have resumed operations, signaling a rebound in China, a vital market for Italian luxury…
Italy's 'Cura Italia' Decree Allocates €25 Billion, Including Cultural and Tourism Support economy-finance
The Italian Council of Ministers approved the 'Cura Italia' decree, allocating €25 billion to support the economy and workers amid the pandemic. For culture and tourism, measures…
Italy Absent from Global Cultural Investment Rankings economy-finance
According to the World Cities Culture Finance Report, Paris invests $3.3 billion each year in cultural initiatives, with Moscow and London following at $2.4 billion and $1.6…
Italy's Special Economic Zones: From Cuba to Naples economy-finance
The article examines Italy's Special Economic Zones (ZES), likening them to temporary free zones within the art sector. Legislative modifications to the ZES framework, stemming…
Italy's Budget Cuts MAXXI Funding by 75%, Redirects to Promote Art Abroad economy-finance
Italy's 2019 budget law, approved by the Senate with 167 votes in favor, 78 against, and 3 abstentions, includes controversial measures for culture. The law redirects €3 million…
Cultural enterprises face new financing challenges based on trust and project quality economy-finance
Cultural enterprises are confronting deep challenges driven by their actual reliability, a concept known as affordance. Traditionally, only business actors and their ties to the…
Public-private tensions in Italy's public procurement system economy-finance
The article examines the fraught relationship between public and private sectors in Italy, focusing on the centralized procurement agency Consip. While Consip has reduced…
Louvre's 2017 financial boom fueled by Abu Dhabi deal and record visitors economy-finance
The Louvre Museum in Paris reported a record 2017 budget of €320 million, a €103 million increase from 2016, driven by higher ticket sales (€83 million vs €63 million),…
Italy's 2018 DEF Excludes Culture from Well-Being Indicators economy-finance
The 2018 Document of Economy and Finance (DEF), published on June 19, largely confirmed existing policies, offering no new affirmative direction for cultural and creative sectors.…
Italian Art Market Stagnates Due to Bureaucratic and Fiscal Hurdles economy-finance
Italy's art market remains one of the least dynamic internationally, hindered by legislative, political, and bureaucratic obstacles. Despite Europe generating $20.5 billion in art…
Italian cinema box office plummets 46% in 2017 economy-finance
According to Anica data, 2017 marked a challenging year for Italian cinema, witnessing a 46.35% decline in box office earnings and a 44.21% drop in ticket sales compared to 2016.…
Intesa Sanpaolo e Mibact firmano accordo da 5 miliardi per il turismo culturale italiano economy-finance
Il Ministero dei Beni Culturali ha collaborato con Intesa Sanpaolo per un accordo di 5 miliardi di euro, valido per tre anni, destinato al Piano Strategico del Turismo 2017-2022.…
Italy's Public Asset Sales: A Triple Loss for Citizens economy-finance
When state-owned enterprises sell public real estate to cover deficits, citizens lose three times: first through tax-funded subsidies to those enterprises, second through the loss…
Petrobras debt: myths and truths economy-finance
Pedro Parente, president of Petrobras, stated in an interview on 04.12.2016 that corruption destroyed the company. He used this narrative to justify asset sales, claiming a…
Italy's Proposed Art Tax: New Rules for Occasional Sales economy-finance
The Italian government has proposed a tax reform targeting income from occasional sales of art, antiques, and collectibles. Under the new rules, profits from such sales would be…
ANP propõe flexibilização do conteúdo local em contratos de petróleo economy-finance
A ANP, que é a Agência Nacional do Petróleo, Gás Natural e Biocombustíveis, realizou uma Audiência Pública para discutir um novo regulamento sobre a isenção, ajuste e…
Italy Introduces Tax Incentives for Employee Welfare, Including Cultural Sector economy-finance
Italy has introduced a fiscal measure allowing tax exemptions on benefits for private sector employees, including those in cultural associations, foundations, and professional…
Italian Chambers of Commerce restructured to boost cultural industries economy-finance
Italy's Chamber of Commerce system has been reduced from 105 to 60 entities, a reorganization aimed at improving efficiency and resource allocation. The reform is expected to…
San Francisco's arts sector generates nearly $1.5 billion annually economy-finance
A report by Americans for the Arts reveals that San Francisco's arts and culture industry generates nearly $1.5 billion annually and supports over 39,000 full-time jobs. The city…
Kering and LVMH push sustainability in luxury fashion economy-finance
François-Henri Pinault, CEO of Kering, announced a ten-year plan concluding in 2025 to cut carbon emissions by 50% and reduce environmental impact from raw material processing by…
Brazilian Science Faces Deep Budget Cuts Amid Economic Crisis economy-finance
Brazil's research sector is grappling with drastic budget reductions, as the Ministry of Science, Technology, Innovation and Communications (MCTIC) saw a 44% cut in March,…
LVMH acquisisce Pinarello e punta su Rapha: il lusso si sposta sullo sportswear economy-finance
LVMH, il colosso del lusso, ha ottenuto il controllo di maggioranza su Pinarello, un produttore di biciclette di alta gamma situato a Treviso, e sta negoziando l'acquisto di…
Italy's Tax Credit for Theatre: Risks and Benefits economy-finance
Italy is reportedly close to passing a law extending indirect tax benefits, known as Tax Credit, from the film industry to live theatre. While welcomed, concerns arise over a…
Trump's proposed budget cuts to cultural agencies echo Australia's failed 2015 austerity economy-finance
Donald Trump's initial budget proposal, though non-final, has sparked controversy by recommending the elimination of funding for several cultural and public service entities,…
Culture generates €89.7 billion for Italian economy in 2015 economy-finance
Nomisma's research, presented during Arte Fiera at Genus Bononiae in Bologna, reveals that in 2015 culture added €89.7 billion in value (6.1% of GDP) and employed 1.5 million…
Italian cinema box office hits record highs in 2016, market share grows economy-finance
In 2016, Italian cinema experienced a significant boom, with box office data from Cinetel showing 105,385,195 tickets sold, a 6.06% increase from 2015. Revenue reached…
French Government Allocates €3 Billion to Culture Amid Tourism Decline economy-finance
Following terrorist attacks in Paris (November 2015) and Nice (July 2016), France has seen a significant drop in international tourism. Data from the French tourism board,…
Cina e Italia firmano accordo da 600 milioni di dollari per il cinema economy-finance
Il 1 settembre 2016, presso la Villa degli Autori a Venezia, è stato firmato un accordo per il lancio del Sino-Italian Film Culture Development Fund, un fondo di 600 milioni di…
UK Cultural Sector Revenue Grows Despite Brexit Uncertainty economy-finance
The UK's cultural sector contributed £27 billion to the economy in 2015, up a third from five years earlier, according to data from The Stage. The sector now accounts for 1.6% of…
French Culture Budget to Increase by 5% in 2017 economy-finance
French President François Hollande announced a 5% increase in the culture budget for 2017 during a visit to Arles for the groundbreaking of the new École Nationale Supérieure de…
Symbola Report: Italy's Cultural Sector Generates 17% of GDP economy-finance
The Symbola report 'Io sono cultura 2016' reveals that Italy's cultural and creative system is valued at nearly €90 billion, with a multiplier effect generating an additional €160…
Metropolitan Museum of Art announces financial restructuring plan to address $10 million deficit economy-finance
The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York has announced a financial restructuring plan to address a $10 million deficit, with the goal of preventing the debt from reaching $40…
Investing in Culture: The State of Play in Italy economy-finance
A conference named 'Economia e Cultura: una strana coppia' was held by the Ordine dei Dottori Commercialisti e degli Esperti Contabili in Milan, focusing on how finance and…
Tech Oligarchs and Nationalist AI Projects Redefine Global Power in 2025 economy-finance
In 2025, Donald Trump launched the Stargate AI project with tech leaders Sam Altman of OpenAI, Larry Ellison of Oracle, and Masayoshi Son of SoftBank, aiming to reindustrialize…

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