
Ferrari Stake Sale Pushes Europe Block Trades to 20-Year High
The Agnelli family's disposal of a €3 billion ($3.14 billion) stake in Ferrari NV has propelled European block sales to the strongest start to the year in two decades.
From billionaire clans to private equity firms and governments, investors have raised about $15.3 billion since the beginning of January via stake sales, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. This rush to dispose of often long-held investments comes as Europe's stock benchmark has its best start to the year since 2019, outperforming US counterparts.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


New York Times
20 minutes ago
- New York Times
Germans Are Buying More Electric Cars, but Not Teslas
Tesla sales in Germany dropped in May for the fifth month in a row, as demand for the electric vehicle maker continued to slide across much of Europe, despite Elon Musk's efforts to turn his focus away from his U.S. government activities and back to his companies. Registrations of new Tesla cars in Germany, Europe's largest car market, dropped more than a third compared with the same month last year, data released from the country's Federal Motor Transport Authority, K.B.A., showed on Tuesday. Tesla sales in other European countries have also remained depressed, falling more than 67 percent in France and 29 percent in Spain in May. Only Norway stood out as an exception, with Tesla selling 2,600 cars in May, more than triple the number sold in the same month last year. Sales were led by deliveries of Tesla's newly revamped version of its most popular vehicle, the Model Y. In neighboring Sweden, Volkswagen sold nearly twice as many of its latest electric model, the ID.7, as the new Model Y from Tesla, whose overall sales in the country dropped 53 percent. Mr. Musk has tried to downplay the extent of Tesla's losses in Europe, telling Bloomberg News in an interview at the Qatar Economic Forum that although it was the region where the brand faces its greatest challenges, 'The European car market is quite weak.' But data from European markets does not support that claim. In Germany, sales of battery-powered cars grew nearly 45 percent in May, compared with the year prior. In Spain, overall sales of electric cars grew 72 percent, while Tesla sales slid 19 percent. In Germany, demand for BYD, Tesla's main E.V. rival, rose ninefold, the strongest showing of an electric vehicle producer from China. The company, which overtook Tesla as the world's top seller of electric cars earlier this year, has been making inroads in Europe, despite facing tariffs of 17 percent imposed by the European Union in 2024. Although Mr. Musk has left his role at the White House, Tesla sales have been affected by his foray into politics. In April, the company reported that its vehicle sales fell 13 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier, as profit plunged to its lowest level in four years. The company has been hurt by protests against Mr. Musk's support for President Trump and several far-right parties in France, Germany and Italy.

Business Insider
29 minutes ago
- Business Insider
Airbus rises on report that Chinese airlines may order hundreds of planes from Boeing's arch rival
Airbus shares rose more than 3% on Wednesday after a report that Chinese airlines are considering ordering hundreds of planes from the European firm. Bloomberg reported that a deal could involve between 200 and 500 narrow-body and wide-body aircraft. The order could be placed as soon as next month when European leaders visit Beijing, but the negotiations may take longer or fall apart. Airbus declined to comment on Bloomberg's report when contacted by Business Insider. The report comes as tensions have risen between China and the US due to Donald Trump's tariff plans. They stand to have a sizable impact on aviation, which could hurt both sides but benefit the European planemaker. In April, China returned some Boeing planes that were waiting to be officially delivered. Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg told CNBC that three planes were being sent back to the US. On an earnings call that month, he said Boeing planned to remarket about 50 planes to other airlines instead. While Boeing wouldn't struggle to sell these planes to other customers due to the industry's huge backlogs, it signalled a potential win for Airbus. The European planemaker predicts China will be the world's biggest market for aviation services by 2043, accounting for 20% of all aircraft deliveries. China has been building its own manufacturer, Comac. It delivered 13 C919 jets last year, all to Chinese airlines and has a backlog of more than 1,000 orders. Comac's chances of disrupting the Airbus-Boeing duopoly have been hampered by tariffs. According to analysts at Bank of America, the C919 has 48 major suppliers from the US, 26 from Europe, and just 14 from China. "If China stops buying aircraft components from the US, the C919 program is halted or dead," they wrote in an April report. Last week, the Trump administration suspended sales to China of some technologies, including those related to jet engines. While tariffs have dropped since their peak of 145%, there are still tensions, so it makes sense that China would prefer to order from the Europeans. Last month, China's Vice Premier He Lifeng visited France, where he met with the Airbus CEO. He said in a government press release that China wants to work with France to safeguard an open and cooperative international economic and trade environment.
Yahoo
38 minutes ago
- Yahoo
China plots giant Airbus order as Xi Jinping cosies up to Brussels
China is drawing up plans to order hundreds of Airbus planes as Xi Jinping seeks to build closer ties with Europe. Beijing is in talks with the European aerospace giant to order up to 500 jets against the backdrop of the trade war with the US. If completed, the order could be announced at a summit in the Chinese capital next month where Xi will host Friedrich Merz, the new German chancellor, and Emmanuel Macron, the president of France, as first reported by Bloomberg. Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, and Antonio Costa, the EU Council chief, are also expected to attend in a sign of the bloc's increased willingness to forge a closer relationship with China. It comes amid heightened trade tensions between China and the US, with Beijing recently banning its airlines from buying jets from Boeing. That followed Donald Trump's decision to impose aggressive tariffs on China. The potential 500-plane deal between China and Airbus would pile further pressure on Boeing, which has battled to rebuild its reputation after one of its doors blew out last year. The proposed agreement would be one of the largest single orders of commercial aircraft ever. The current record is held by Indian airline IndiGo, which ordered 500 Airbus planes in 2023. It would likely be China's largest order ever too, overtaking the $37bn (£27bn) spent on 300 Airbus jets three years ago. The deal highlights China's lingering dependence on imported planes despite its attempts to build up its own aerospace industry. The C919, a rival to the 737 developed by local plane maker Comac, has won only a handful of export deals. Boeing has what it calls a completion and delivery centre in China but no actual production line there. That is in contrast to Airbus, which operates two final assembly lines for narrow-body jets in the city of Tianjin, 70 miles from Beijing. China has long sought to limit its trade with Boeing, notably becoming the first country in the world to ground its 737 Max planes in the wake of two deadly crashes involving the jets in 2019. It was also one of the last to allow the plane to re-enter service, which led some Chinese airlines to abandon orders. Airbus declined to comment. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.