MILAN (AP) — Italian authorities recovered three artworks by Renoir, Cézanne and Matisse worth millions of euros that were stolen earlier this year from a private museum near the northern city of Parma, police said Friday.
A statement from the Italian Carabinieri’s art recovery squad said the artworks were discovered during searches ordered by prosecutors, but no details were given. The investigation is ongoing.
The three recovered artworks are “Fish,” a painting by Auguste Renoir, “Still Life with Cherries,” a pencil and watercolor by Paul Cézanne, and “Odalisque on the Terrace,” a color aquatint by Henri Matisse. Authorities said the Cézanne was valued at 6 million euros ($7 million), the Renoir at 3 million euros ($3.5 million), and the Matisse at 20,000 euros ($23,000).
The heist at the Magnani Rocca Foundation, about 20 kilometers (12 miles) from Parma, took place on the night of March 22-23, with thieves forcing open the entrance door, police said.
Local media reported that the thieves took the paintings in less than three minutes and escaped across the museum gardens.
Established in 1977, the foundation hosts the collection of art historian Luigi Magnani and includes works by Dürer, Rubens, Van Dyck, Goya and Monet.
The museum believes a structured and organized gang was responsible for the theft, which the alarm interrupted, local media reported.
The crime followed a series of high-profile heists at major European museums, including the theft in October of French crown jewels and other items valued at 88 million euros ($101 million) from the Louvre in Paris.
In this picture made available by the Italian Carabinieri in Parma, northern Italy, Friday, Aug. 14, 2026, Carabinieri pose near three paintings recovered following a police operation: "Tasse et plat de cerises" by Paul Cezanne, left, "Odalisque Sur La Terrasse" by Henri Matisse, center, and "Les Poisson" by Pierre Auguste Renoir, right. (Italian Carabinieri via AP)
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are drifting around their record heights Friday following the latest report on the economy to come in surprisingly weak, this time about how much shoppers are spending at retailers. Such data could keep interest rates low, which is something Wall Street loves, but it also raises the risk of a worst-case economic scenario of slow growth and high inflation.
The S&P 500 was virtually unchanged, coming off its all-time high set the day before. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 24 points, or less than 0.1%, as of 10:30 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.2% lower.
Treasury yields were also mixed in the bond market after a report showed shoppers spent less at U.S. retailers last month than the month before. That surprised economists, who were forecasting another month of growth.
On the bright side for financial markets, such a pullback in spending could take pressure off inflation. Inflation remains much higher than anyone would like, but reports earlier this week suggested the pace of increases in prices is decelerating.
If inflation keeps trending that way, it could encourage the Federal Reserve to hold off on hikes to interest rates. Higher rates would help keep a lid on inflation, but they do so by intentionally slowing the economy and making it more expensive for everyone to borrow money.
But the downside of such data, including last week’s surprisingly weak report on the U.S. job market, is that they also raise the risk of a slowing economy. The Fed has no good tool to fix both a stagnating economy and high inflation at the same time, which is why what’s called “stagflation” is seen as a worst-case scenario.
Some on Wall Street cautioned against overreacting to the weak data on U.S. retail sales, even if it was broad based. It could simply be a snap back after retail sales in earlier months were boosted by unusual factors such as big tax refunds, the World Cup and even an earlier Prime Day event at Amazon, according to Jennifer Timmerman, senior investment strategy analyst at Wells Fargo Investment Institute.
U.S. consumers nevertheless appear to be getting more discouraged about the economy. A preliminary survey by the University of Michigan suggested sentiment among them is weakening by more than economists expected.
The survey said drops occurred across the political spectrum and showed up particularly among older, lower-income and other groups who can be hurt most by inflation.
On Wall Street, Reddit jumped 13% after learning its stock will join the S&P 500 index on Tuesday. Many professional investors and funds closely track the index, either mimicking it or at least measuring their performance against it. That can push many investors to buy a stock automatically when it enters the index.
Applied Materials fell 4.9% even though the company, whose technology helps make semiconductors, reported stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected. CEO Gary Dickerson said global hunger for artificial-intelligence technology helped it deliver another record quarter.
But its stock had already more than doubled this year and built expectations very high, which helped pressure the stock on Friday.
AI stocks in general have been swinging sharply on worries that their prices shot too high because of AI euphoria and that their strong growth in revenue may not be sustainable.
In the oil market, prices were relatively steady following big recent swings as hopes rose and fell about when the war with Iran will allow tankers to carry crude again from the Middle East again to customers worldwide. The price for a barrel of Brent crude rose 0.4% to $87.46 after drifting earlier between gains and losses.
In the bond market, shorter-term Treasury yields eased following the retail sales report, suggesting traders see the Fed as less likely to hike interest rates at its next meeting in September.
But the yield on the 10-year Treasury, which moves more on expectations for inflation and economic growth in upcoming years, rose to 4.66% from 4.63% late Thursday.
In stock markets abroad, indexes were mixed in Europe and Asia.
London’s FTSE 100 slipped 0.1% after Nigel Farage regained the seat in Parliament he quit a month ago, beating trash-can wearing comic candidate Count Binface in a special election.
South Korea’s Kospi again had one of the world’s sharpest moves and jumped 2.4% for its third straight gain of at least that much. Seoul has been at the center of the world’s swings for artificial-intelligence stocks because its market is dominated by two tech giants, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix.
AP Business Writers Michelle Chapman and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed to this report.
Trader Fred Demarco, right, and Specialist Michael Pistillo, left, work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, Aug. 7, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Traders Daniel Kryger, right, and Aman Patel, left, work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, Aug. 7, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
A general view shows the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, Aug. 7, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
A person walks in front of an electronic stock chart board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
A person walk in front of an electronic stock chart board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
A currency trader watches monitors near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Aug. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Currency traders work at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Aug. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
A screen shows the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics Co. stock price at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Aug. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
