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☆ Italy to propose ex-minister Franco for ECB board, source says
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Italy's Economy Minister Daniele Franco addresses a news conference after the G7 Summit in Koenigswinter, near Bonn, Germany May 20, 2022. REUTERS/Benjamin Westhoff/File photo Acquire Licensing RightsROME, Aug 20 (Reuters) - Italy will put forward former economy minister Daniele Franco as its candidate for the executive board of the European Central Bank (ECB), a source close to the matter said on Sunday. He was appointed economy minister in 2021 in Mario Draghi's unity government, helping Italy navigate the COVID-19 crisis and the turbulence caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. However, in a surprise move, Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti decided instead to propose his predecessor, a source close to the matter told Reuters, confirming a report in Il Sole 24 Ore newspaper. The government had initially put Franco forward as the Italian candidate to lead the European Union's lending arm, the European Investment Bank (EIB).

Persons: Daniele Franco, Benjamin Westhoff, Fabio Panetta, Franco, Mario Draghi's, Piero Cipollone, Giancarlo Giorgetti, Giorgia Meloni, Crispian Balmer, Giuseppe Fonte, Christina Fincher, David Holmes Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, European Central Bank, ECB, Bank of Italy, European Investment Bank, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Koenigswinter, Bonn, Germany, Italy, Ukraine, France, Rome, Italian, Franco

"There's no real consensus at the moment about the increase in interest rates among economic actors," Jeremie Delecourt, chief operating officer at French private equity fund Ardian, told Reuters. In the euro zone, the peak is near after a combined 4 percentage points rise in the past year, ECB policymaker and French central bank governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau said on a panel at the conference. But he also said that rates would be left high for as long as necessary to ensure that inflation is headed back to the European Central Bank's 2% target by 2025. The ECB raised interest rates to their highest level in 22 years last month and promised another hike this month, with possibly another in September. "I see quite a bit of optimism in the short term, but I see a lot of downside risks if there is a policy mistake, especially from the central banks," she added.

Persons: Jeremie Delecourt, Francois Villeroy de Galhau, Jean, Louis Girodolle, Lazard, Mario Draghi's, Somersan Coqui, Daniel Barneix, Barneix, Veronika Grimm, Leigh Thomas, Alexander Smith Organizations: Reuters, ECB policymaker, Central, ECB, Atlantic, Allianz Trade, Thomson Locations: PROVENCE, France, United States, Europe, Aix, Provence

☆ Analysis: Greek bonds snapping at heels of southern Europe's best in class
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( Stefano Rebaudo | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The country has received three international bailouts from the euro zone and the IMF worth 280 billion euros ($308 billion) since 2010. "The Greek (bond) market is not so liquid and tends to be more volatile, but we have a lot of good news. The Greek economy is still heavily exposed to volatile sectors like tourism or shipping, but it is less sensitive to manufacturing headwinds. The premium, or spread, of Greek government bond yields over those of Spain recently fell to its lowest since 2008 at around 27 basis points . Across southern Europe, only Portugal and Spain trade at a smaller premium to Germany - the euro zone benchmark - than Greece.

Persons: Athanasios, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Goldman Sachs, Filippo Taddei, Piet Haines Christiansen, Giorgia Meloni, Mario Draghi's, Christoph Rieger, Stefano Rebaudo, Sara Rossi, Amanda Cooper, Hugh Lawson Organizations: Bank of America, Democracy, Analysts, European Recovery Fund, Danske Bank, Italy's, ECB, Italian Treasury, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Greece, Spain, Europe, Portugal, Germany, European, Italy, Italian

The most surprising appointment was that of the new Enel chief Flavio Cattaneo, a seasoned corporate manager who leaves his role as vice president of high-speed train operator Italo to lead the country's biggest utility. He leap-frogged Stefano Donnarumma, the current chief executive of power grid Terna (TRN.MI), widely seen as Meloni's first choice. Enel shares were down 4% on Thursday, with investors fretting over Cattaneo's lack of expertise in the renewable energy sector. Leading politicians in Meloni's right-wing coalition said this issue was a major stumbling block for Donnarumma, along with pressure from League chief Salvini, a strong supporter of Cattaneo. Besides concessions on Enel, Meloni kept a tight grip on the rest of the main appointments.

☆ Italy lawmakers call off vote on extending Ukraine arms supplies
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Angelo Amante | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

In the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, former Prime Minister Mario Draghi's administration introduced measures that made it possible to send weapons to Kyiv without seeking parliamentary authorisation for each shipment. Support for Ukraine has been a contentious topic within the ruling coalition, which includes Meloni's Brothers of Italy, Matteo Salvini's League and Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia parties. Earlier this month, a governing coalition official told Reuters that Italy was readying a sixth arms package for Ukraine, including air defence systems Kyiv had requested. The PD is also a supporter of Ukraine, while other leftist opposition forces want the government to shift focus from sending arms to stepping up diplomatic negotiations. Reporting by Angelo Amante, editing by Alvise Armellini, Alexandra Hudson and Conor HumphriesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Italy to scrutinise sale of Lukoil-owned refinery, minister says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The ISAB refinery accounts for around 20% of Italy's refinery capacity and directly employs 1,000 workers in one of Italy's poorer regions. Rome has special anti-takeover regulations or so-called "golden powers" to shield companies deemed of strategic importance from foreign interest. Marking a break with previous administrations, Prime Minister Mario Draghi's government has used golden powers to set conditions on scores of deals. Urso has recently said that Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's administration would continue to use such a rules to preserve the country's national interest. Last month Italian authorities provided Lukoil with a "comfort letter" to help ISAB refinery get bank financing to buy non-Russian oil but lenders have not yet unlocked the much-needed funds.

☆ Italy to end ban on health workers not vaccinated against Covid
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MILAN, Oct 28 (Reuters) - Italian doctors and nurses suspended from work because they are not vaccinated against Covid-19 will soon be reinstated, new Health Minister Orazio Schillaci said on Friday. The new government will also cancel fines imposed on all people aged over 50 who had not got vaccinated, he added. Italy has been one of the country's hardest hit by the pandemic, with almost 179,000 deaths, according to World Health Organization figures. Former prime minister Mario Draghi's government had made vaccination mandatory for teachers and health workers in 2021 and extended that to everyone over 50 in January this year. A refusal resulted in suspension from work without pay for public employees, while those aged over 50 faced fines of 100 euros ($99.5).

☆ Factbox: Key ministers in new Italian Meloni government
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

ROME, Oct 22 (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's government was sworn into office on Saturday. Here the profiles of some of the key figures:ECONOMY MINISTERGiancarlo Giorgetti, 55, is a veteran political wheeler-dealer viewed as a moderate and relatively pro-European member of his right-wing League party. He was not Prime Minister Meloni's first choice for the job. He held posts in centre-right governments led by Berlusconi and recently served as president of the influential parliamentary intelligence committee. Meloni insisted on him for the job, overcoming resistance from Berlusconi who wanted a Forza Italia member in the ministry.

☆ (OFFICIAL) Key ministers in new Italian government
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Italy's newly appointed Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni speaks to the media following a meeting with Italian President Sergio Mattarella at the Quirinale Palace in Rome, Italy October 21, 2022. REUTERS/Guglielmo MangiapaneROME, Oct 21 (Reuters) - Giorgia Meloni's Italian government will be sworn in on Saturday at 10 a.m. (0800 GMT). Here the profiles of some of the key figures:ECONOMY MINISTERGiancarlo Giorgetti, 55, is a veteran political wheeler-dealer viewed as a moderate and relatively pro-European member of his right-wing League party. He was not Prime Minister Meloni's first choice for the job. Meloni insisted on him for the job, overcoming resistance from Berlusconi who wanted a Forza Italia member in the justice ministry.

"When you run a business, if you keep hearing on the news that gas supplies are at risk, you've got to do something. It's not like you can start screaming and stamping your foot when they actually do halt flows for two hours a day," Checchi told Reuters. Higher prices contributed to the 16.2% rise in manufacturing turnover Italy reported in July on a calendar adjusted basis, but volumes also increased by 1.7%. "We invested 10 million euros to build two cogeneration plants and save 4 million euros this year," he said, adding Italcer saved another million by reducing the tiles' thickness to 8.5 from 10 millimetres. Italian business lobby Confindustria has warned of an "economic earthquake", saying the new government will struggle to offset the hit from energy prices on firms like Draghi managed to do without hurting Italy's fragile public finances.

Leader of Brothers of Italy party Giorgia Meloni attends the fourth voting session to elect the new speaker, at the lower house of parliament, in Rome, Italy, October 14, 2022. Giorgetti, the industry minister in Mario Draghi's outgoing government, is considered to be one of the League's most moderate and pro-European figures. Coalition sources said energy-related matters are likely to remain in the hands of the ecological transition ministry. The frontrunner to succeed technocrat Roberto Cingolani in the job is Gilberto Pichetto Fratin, a coalition source said. Brothers of Italy's Adolfo Urso, previously head of the parliamentary committee on security, is the frontrunner for the position, one source said.

ROME, Oct 13 (Reuters) - Giancarlo Giorgetti, a former industry minister and the deputy leader of the right-wing League party, looked well placed to become Italy's next economy minister on Thursday after getting the backing of the conservative coalition chief. "I think Giancarlo Giorgetti would be an excellent economy minister," Giorgia Meloni, expected to be named prime minister this month, told reporters in parliament. "If the League wants me at the economy ministry I'll go there," Giorgetti told reporters shortly before Meloni's comments, in a shift from previous, more cautious remarks. Asked by Reuters early on Thursday whether he would be willing to become economy minister, he replied: "if you're asked to do something you reflect and ask yourself if you'd be able to do it. I don't know if I'd be able to be economy minister."

☆ Italy's Meloni tells Ukraine it can count on her
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ROME, Sept 28 (Reuters) - Nationalist leader Giorgia Meloni, set to become Italy's next prime minister, has pledged her full support for Kyiv after receiving congratulations from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy for her election victory. In a Tweet late on Tuesday, a day after Meloni and her right-wing allies won a commanding parliamentary majority, Zelenskiy said he was looking forward to "fruitful cooperation with the new government". "Dear (Zelenskiy), you know that you can count on our loyal support for the cause of freedom of Ukrainian people. Underscoring the depth of those ties, Forza Italia leader Silvio Berlusconi said last week that Putin had been "pushed" into invading Ukraine and had wanted to put "decent people" in charge of Kyiv. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Crispian Balmer; Editing by Michael PerryOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Euro zone yields fall from multi-year highs tracking UK gilts
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( Stefano Rebaudo | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Sept 28 (Reuters) - Euro zone borrowing costs fell on Wednesday, tracking moves in British gilts, after hitting multi-year highs amid monetary tightening expectations and concerns about potentially growing bond supply due to more public spending. The euro area bond market has recently trailed yields in British gilts, which recorded their sharpest rise in decades in response to new finance minister Kwasi Kwarteng's tax cuts and borrowing plans. The German yield curve steepened after being close to inversion last week, with the gap between 2- and 10-year yields hitting an almost 3-week high of 42.7 bps. The jump of yields in British gilts also widened yield spreads between core and peripheral government bonds. gilt&spreadItaly's 10-year bond yield was down 13 bps to 4.6%, after hitting its highest since February 2013 at 4.927%, with the spread between Italian and German 10-year yields tightening to 243 bps.

The Intel Corporation logo is seen at a temporary office during the World Economic Forum 2022 (WEF) in the Alpine resort of Davos, Switzerland May 25, 2022. A spokesperson for Intel did not comment as negotiations are ongoing and confidential. Among other reasons, the site is well connected with Germany and in particular with the city of Magdeburg, where Intel will build two factories, one of the sources added. Intel and the government had also initially considered sites in the Lombardy, Apulia and Sicily regions. The sources declined to provide further details, but Reuters has previously reported that Rome is ready to fund as much as 40% of Intel's total investment in Italy.

☆ Factbox: Companies potentially affected by Italy's election
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

A woman walks at a polling station during the snap election in Rome, Italy September 25, 2022. read moreHere is a list of companies that could be affected by the outcome of the election. The change of government and calls by Meloni to revisit Italy's national recovery plan could threaten Italy's ability to meet the commitments to which European Union post-pandemic funds are tied. Brothers of Italy welcomed CDP's decision to wait for the election before filing its non-binding bid for TIM's network. read moreBrothers of Italy has called for the new government to be allowed to make a final decision on ITA.

The Intel Corporation logo is seen at a temporary office during the World Economic Forum 2022 (WEF) in the Alpine resort of Davos, Switzerland May 25, 2022. Intel's investment in Italy is part of a wider plan announced by the U.S. chipmaker last March to invest as much as 80 billion euros ($77.5 billion) over the next decade in building capacity across Europe. A spokesperson for Intel did not comment as negotiations are ongoing and confidential. Intel and the government had also initially considered sites in the Lombardy, Apulia and Sicily regions. The sources declined to provide further details, but Reuters has previously reported that Rome is ready to fund as much as 40% of Intel's total investment in Italy.

ROME, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Polls opened in Italy on Sunday in an election that is forecast to return the country's most right-wing government since World War Two and also herald its first woman prime minister. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterA right-wing alliance led by Giorgia Meloni's Brothers of Italy party appeared on course for a clear victory when the last opinion polls were published two weeks ago. read moreBut with a polls blackout in force in the two weeks before the election, there is still scope for a surprise. Meloni would be the obvious candidate for prime minister as leader of an alliance also featuring Matteo Salvini's League party and Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia. Italy's first autumn national election in over a century was triggered by party infighting that brought down Prime Minister Mario Draghi's broad national unity government in July.

ROME, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Millions of Italians will vote on Sunday in an election that is forecast to return the country's most right-wing government since World War Two and usher in its first woman prime minister. Italy's first autumn national election in more than a century was triggered by party infighting that brought down Prime Minister Mario Draghi's broad national unity government in July. A right-wing alliance led by Giorgia Meloni's Brothers of Italy party appeared on course for a clear victory when the last opinion polls were published two weeks ago. That would cap a remarkable rise for Meloni, a 45-year-old from Rome whose party won only 4% of the vote in the last national election in 2018. CHALLENGESItaly has a history of political instability and the next prime minister will lead the country's 68th government since 1946 and face a host of challenges, notably rising energy costs.

☆ The far-right is expected to win Italy's election in Rome's biggest political shift for decades
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-22 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

The Brothers of Italy party stands out from the crowd and is expected to gain the largest share of the vote for a single party. Giorgia Meloni, leader of the right-wing party Fratelli d'Italia (Brothers of Italy) holds a giant Italian national flag during a political rally on February 24, 2018 in Milan, Italy. The snap election follows the resignation of Prime Minister Mario Draghi in July, after he failed to unite a fractious political coalition behind his economic policies. An election win by Fratelli d'Italia could see the party's leader, Giorgia Meloni, become Italy's first female prime minister. Fratelli d'Italia has been pro-NATO and pro-Ukraine and supports sanctions against Russia, unlike Lega which is ambivalent about those measures.

☆ Explainer: Rightist alliance set for Italian election victory
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

REUTERS/Yara NardiROME, Sept 23 (Reuters) - Italy votes in a national election on Sunday that could herald its most right-wing government since World War Two, led by its first woman prime minister. read moreThe vote was called after infighting brought down Prime Minister Mario Draghi's national unity government in July. Before then they had consistently shown that a rightist coalition led by the nationalist Brothers of Italy party and also involving the League party and Forza Italia was on course for a clear victory. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterBrothers of Italy leader Giorgia Meloni would be the likely choice for prime minister as head of the main coalition party. Prime minister from 2018-21, he provoked anger when his party withdrew support for Draghi's government in July, sparking divisions that led to the early election.

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