Fiat: Swerving to cheat death

Fiat has tried to jumpstart consolidation in the European auto sector by announcing it cannot face the future alone. Boss Sergio Marchionne’s doom-mongering may in the meantime raise enough nationalistic fervour to elicit a shot of state aid. But it is clear that Fiat’s days as the definitive Italian industrial are numbered. Until November, the carmaker looked relatively protected from the crisis ripping through the sector. But a 25% sales slump that month in Brazil, its biggest growth market, h...