This article, from The Associated Press, appears on Daily American.

Italian craftsmanship meets Wall Street, Ferrari goes public

Ferrari roared onto the New York Stock Exchange Wednesday and its shares, trading under the ticker symbol RACE, jumped sharply in their public debut.

The automaker, based in the northern Italian town of Maranello, had been a private company since its founding in 1929 by Italian sports driver Enzo Ferrari.

In 1969, Fiat bought a 50 percent stake in the company, which it then increased to 90 percent in 1988.

For Fiat-Chrysler (the companies joined last year), the IPO raises needed cash and also helps pare debt at the world’s seventh largest automaker, which has ambitious plans to expand its Alfa Romeo brand and other higher-margin luxury cars like Maserati.

There were questions, however, about how becoming a public company might affect such an iconic brand. Read more an Daily American.