DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Italy to press ahead with plans to sell ITA despite MSC snub
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ROME, Nov 22 (Reuters) - Italy's government will press ahead with plans to sell a majority stake in airline ITA Airways, the successor to Alitalia, Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti said on Tuesday, after shipping group MSC dropped its interest. "We are open to anybody who wants to participate in the privatisation," Giorgetti told a news conference, adding ITA Airways's data room is "always open." Shipping group MSC, which had partnered with German airline Lufthansa (LHAG.DE) earlier this year to bid for ITA, said on Monday it was no longer interested in the transaction. On the other hand, a Lufthansa spokesman said last week that the German carrier was still interested in buying into ITA. The Treasury plans to privatise ITA through a direct sale while retaining a minority, non-controlling stake in the initial stage.

☆ Italy govt officials to discuss plans for Telecom Italia on Tuesday
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ROME, Nov 22 (Reuters) - Government officials will discuss plans for Telecom Italia (TIM) (TLIT.MI) later on Tuesday, Italy's economy minister said, responding to a question about the former phone monopoly's landline grid. Giorgetti was asked whether the new right-wing government backed Italian state lender CDP's plans to submit an offer for TIM's landline grid by the end of the month. CDP's multi-billion euro preliminary offer for TIM's landline grid is part of a plan to combine it with its broadband unit Open Fiber. The long awaited offer is expected to value TIM's landline grid and submarine cable unit Sparkle at between 15 and 18 billion euros including some 12 billion euros in debt, sources have previously said. Negotiations have been complicated by divergences on valuation, with TIM's top investor, French media conglomerate Vivendi (VIV.PA) demanding 31 billion euros to back a sale.

☆ Yellen to seek clarity from China on COVID, property -officials
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-13 | by ( David Lawder | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NUSA DUA, Indonesia, Nov 13 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will seek clarity on China's plans to ease its COVID-19 restrictions and deal with problems in its property sector when she meets on Monday with China's central bank chief, Treasury officials said on Sunday. Yellen is prepared to discuss with Peoples Bank of China Governor Yi Gang the outlook for U.S. inflation and growth, but will likely leave monetary policy plans to the Federal Reserve, the officials said. The Treasury officials said they do not plan to offer advice to China on its COVID restrictions or its property sector woes, but to understand Chinese officials' approach so they can better interpret the impact of policy changes. Yellen also will also meet with French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire and new Italian Minister of Economy and Finance Giancarlo Giorgetti. Yellen also will urge her European counterparts to keep up strong fiscal support for Ukraine in a transparent and predictable way, the officials said.

☆ Italy econ minister says lots of departments involved in TIM plans
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

ROME, Nov 11 (Reuters) - A potential takeover of Telecom Italia (TLIT.MI) by state lender CDP is something that needs to be discussed by ministers from a number of departments, Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti said on Friday. Giorgetti was asked about the proposal on the sidelines of a news conference. The idea has been floated as a potential alternative to TIM's own plan to do a deal with CDP for its network grid to help create a national fibre champion. The minister had earlier told the news conference that he had confidence in Italy's economic forecasts, calling them "prudent" and in line with those due to be unveiled by the European Commission. Writing by Keith Weir, editing by Alvise ArmelliniOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

She told reporters she would spend more than nine billion euros on an anti-inflation package in a decree next week. The government raised Italy's GDP growth forecast for this year to 3.7% from 3.3% on the back of stronger expected expansion in the third quarter, while leaving the 2023 forecast unchanged at 0.6%. RECORD INFLATIONThe Treasury's targets will form the framework for the 2023 budget that Meloni will present to parliament this month for approval by the end of the year. Public finances this year have gone better than forecast, with value added tax revenues and excise duties boosted by inflation and surging energy prices. Giorgetti said Italy's public debt, proportionally the highest in the euro zone after Greece's, will fall steadily from the 150.3% of GDP level registered in 2021 to 141.2% in 2025.

Gross domestic product grew by 0.5% in the third quarter from the second and 2.6% year on year, national statistics bureau ISTAT said. Both preliminary readings were around half a percentage point higher than expected in Reuters survey of analysts, while the Treasury had said last month it expected a third quarter contraction. The government plans to raise next year's budget deficit to 4.5% of GDP, up from the 3.4% projected last month under current trends, a senior official said. Italian inflation hit 12.8% in October, the highest level since the country's EU-harmonised index was launched in 1996. Full year growth this year will come in at 3.7%, Federico forecast, above Rome's official 3.3% target.

☆ 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.

☆ Low-key 'fixer' Giorgetti named Italy's economy minister
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( Gavin Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

read moreTim Jones, euro zone analyst for market consultancy firm Medley Advisors, said "long-time League fixer" Giorgetti was a better fit. I don't know if I'd be able to be economy minister." As industry minister, he helped block a number of Chinese takeover bids in strategic sectors of Italy's economy. "He backed Maroni when he got rid of Bossi, he backed Salvini when he got rid of Maroni and then he backed Draghi who undermined Salvini," said the source, asking not to be named. Tellingly, when Meloni proposed Giorgetti as economy minister, Salvini said he should be counted as an external figure, rather than part of the League's quota of ministers, a party source said.

☆ (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.

☆ Italy's Meloni tells president she is ready to become prime minister
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( Crispian Balmer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Brothers of Italy leader Giorgia Meloni arrives for a meeting with Italian President Sergio Mattarella at the Quirinale Palace in Rome, Italy October 21, 2022. REUTERS/Guglielmo MangiapaneSummary Meloni set to become Italy's first woman PMNew government could be sworn in at weekendBerlusconi irks allies with pro-Putin commentsROME, Oct 21 (Reuters) - Italy's Giorgia Meloni told President Sergio Mattarella on Friday that she was ready to become prime minister and could swiftly form a new government despite tumult within her right-wing coalition. Meloni, head of the nationalist Brothers of Italy party, met the president alongside her main allies -- Matteo Salvini, who leads the far-right League, and Silvio Berlusconi, founder of the conservative Forza Italia party. "We are ready to form a government as quickly as possible," Meloni told reporters after the unusually short meeting, which lasted barely 15 minutes. The conservative bloc won a commanding parliamentary majority at a Sept. 25 general election, with Meloni's party taking the most votes, putting her in pole position to become Italy's first female prime minister.

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.

☆ Next Italy PM is bolstering her EU credentials
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MILAN, Oct 14 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Italy’s would-be premier Giorgia Meloni is seeking to score points with investors. The hard-right Brothers of Italy party leader, expected to become prime minister later this month, is looking to appoint pro-European lawmaker Giancarlo Giorgetti, 55, as finance minister. A veteran member of the League, Meloni’s coalition partner, Giorgetti is a moderate, pro-market politician. But the central banker, a top candidate to become Bank of Italy governor next year, turned down Meloni’s approach, people close to him told Reuters Breakingviews. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

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."

Search resuls for: "Giorgetti"

13 mentions found