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☆ Italian book-reading hit 22-year low in 2022, after COVID pick up
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Alessandro Parodi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 18 (Reuters) - Less than 40% of Italians read a book for pleasure last year, data showed on Thursday, the lowest figure for 22 years, but children were more avid readers than their parents. National statistics bureau ISTAT reported that 39.3% of people above the age of five read at least one book in 2022 for a reason other than study or work. Reading picked up marginally during the COVID-19 pandemic, which interrupted a downtrend that began in 2010, ISTAT said. Only 17.4% of people had read as many as three books in the 12 months prior to the survey, it said. Overall, female readership is 10 points higher than for males, ISTAT said, continuing a trend which began in 1988.

Foreign holdings of Italian government paper increased in February after 10 consecutive monthly declines, according to Bank of Italy data. "This is a magic moment for Italian bonds," he told Reuters. The share of Italian government debt held by foreign investors fell to below 20% at the end of 2022 from around 50% before the 2008 financial crisis, Bank of Italy data shows. The Italian Treasury has already taken steps to shore up demand for its bonds as the ECB retreats, by boosting purchases among domestic households and companies. Together, Italian families and firms now hold around 215 billion euros, or 9%, of Rome's debt, UniCredit's Cazzulani said, the highest level since mid-2015.

☆ EU commission sees Germany 2023 GDP growth at 0.2%, Italy 1.2% - newspaper
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ROME, May 15 (Reuters) - The European Commission will forecast Germany's economic growth this year at 0.2%, while projecting a 1.2% rate for Italy, Italian daily La Stampa reported on Monday, citing Brussels-based sources. The Commission sees the euro zone's largest economy growing by 1.4% next year, La Stampa writes, slightly above its February forecast of 1.3%. Brussels' 1.2% forecast for Italy is an upward revision from a 0.8% estimate made in February, and it is also above the Rome government's official forecast of 1.0%. Brussels forecasts Italian growth to remain broadly stable next year at 1.1%, La Stampa said, which is a marginal upward revision from its February forecast of 1.0%. For the euro zone as a whole, the Commission will forecast growth this year at "slightly above" its previous forecast of 0.9%, the paper said, without being more specific.

Kyiv estimates nearly 19,500 children have been taken to Russia or Russian-occupied Crimea since February 2022, in what it condemns as illegal deportations. "We must make every effort to return them home," Zelenskiy said in a Tweet afterwards, saying he had discussed it with the pope. Zelenskiy also said he asked the pope to "join" Kyiv's 10-point peace plan. [1/6] Pope Francis shakes hands with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, at the Vatican, May 13, 2023. Zelenskiy flew to Rome on an Italian government plane that was escorted over Italian airspace by fighter jets.

☆ Iveco to fully own venture with Nikola on electric, hydrogen trucks
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Despite Nikola's problems, battery electric trucks developed by the venture based in Ulm, Germany are already circulating in the U.S., while orders are being collected in Europe. Fuel cell hydrogen trucks are expected to hit the road next year. As part of the agreement, Iveco will focus on Europe for the further development and commercialisation of its own battery electric (BEV) and fuel cell (FCEV) electric trucks, while Nikola will concentrate its operations in North America, the two groups said in a joint statement. Iveco's overall investment, through available liquidity, will be partly in cash, for $35 million, and partly in shares, with the purchase of 20 million Nikola shares. Iveco will retain a "meaningful" amount of Nikola shares, they said.

☆ Iveco takes full ownership of JV with Nikola on electric, hybrid trucks
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MILAN, May 9 (Reuters) - Italy's Iveco Group (IVG.MI) has agreed to buy the full ownership of its joint venture with U.S. start-up Nikola (NKLA.O) developing battery electric and fuel cell heavy-duty trucks for 44 million euros ($48 million), it said on Tuesday. Battery electric (BEV) trucks developed by the JV are already circulating in the U.S., while orders are being collected in Europe. Fuel cell hydrogen hybrid (FCEV) trucks are expected to hit the road next year. As part of the agreement announced on Tuesday, Iveco will focus on Europe for the further development and commercialisation of its own battery electric and fuel cell electric trucks, while Nikola will concentrate its operations in North America, the two groups said in a joint statement. Iveco's overall investment, through available liquidity, will be partly in cash, for $35 million, and partly in shares, with the purchase of 20 million Nikola shares.

☆ Italy pushes to limit executive pay in listed state-run firms
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Giuseppe Fonte | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Top managers' multi-million euro salaries and handsome bonuses have come into focus at a time when Italian families are struggling with an inflation rate that neared 9% in April, well above the euro zone average. According to the government draft, the Treasury will work to "contain management costs" when shareholders vote on remuneration policies at state-controlled listed companies. Monte dei Paschi already applies curbs to executives' pay as a bank that was bailed out by the state in 2017. Under terms agreed with European Union authorities, the total remuneration of any MPS executive may not exceed 10 times the average salary of its employees in 2022. Additional reporting by Gavin Jones; Editing by Gavin Jones and Christina FincherOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Torrential rain lashes northern Italy, killing at least two people
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ROME, May 3 (Reuters) - Torrential rain lashed Italy's northern Emilia Romagna region over the last 24 hours, causing extensive flooding and killing at least two people, rescuers and media said on Wednesday. An elderly cyclist drowned when he was swept away by flood waters in the town of Castel Bolognese, Ansa news agency reported. The rain follows months of drought which raised concerns about the low water level in the Po, Italy's largest river, which runs West to East through the northern part of Emilia Romagna. An aerial view shows a flooded area after heavy rains hit Italy's Emilia Romagna region, in Massa Lombarda, Italy, May 2, 2023. Vigili del Fuoco/Handout via REUTERSFootage released by the fire brigade showed extensive flooding in an area between Bologna, Emilia Romagna's capital, and the city of Ravenna on the Adriatic coast.

Even gaining qualifications in Italy didn't help Abhishek, a 26-year-old migrant from India who got a master's degree in mechanical engineering at Turin's Polytechnic University last year. Italy, which is also contending with an exodus of skilled nationals to stronger economies, needs qualified immigrants to fill growing skilled labour shortages, many economists say. In 2023, work permits will be granted to around 83,000 non-EU migrants, according to government data, less than a third of the 277,000 who applied for them. Barbera at Turin University said the lack of migrants in skilled professions has become entrenched and hard to reverse. "Migrants in Italy have virtually no access to the middle class," he said.

☆ UniCredit to repay AT1 bond, says no need to issue more near term
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Valentina Za | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Investors' confidence in AT1 bonds has been rocked by a Swiss authorities' decision to wipe out $17 billion of Credit Suisse's CSGN.S AT1 debt under its takeover by UBS (UBSG.S), in a move that hit AT1 holders harder than shareholders. To do so, banks need approval from supervisors because such bonds, which are designed to help lenders withstand possible losses, count towards their capital buffers and banks would normally need to refinance them. A supervisory source told Reuters at the time that banks with strong capital ratios such as UniCredit did well to call AT1 bonds and prop up investor confidence. AT1 bonds were introduced in the wake of the global financial crisis to provide lenders with tools that could allow them to pass on losses to investors, shielding taxpayers. "UniCredit has limited need for TLAC/MREL fundingfor the remainder of this year and no need to issue AT1 instruments in the foreseeable future.

☆ Official promo video for Italy tourism features Slovenia
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ROME, April 25 (Reuters) - Italy's tourism ministry has faced ridicule after an official video to attract tourists to Italy used footage of people in Slovenia drinking Slovenian wine. Art historian Tomaso Montanari called the advertising campaign "grotesque", and an "obscene" waste of money, while the video was lampooned by users of Italian social media platforms. The most controversial footage shows a group of young people smiling on a sunlit patio drinking wine in what is presented as a typical Italian scene. The Armando Testa communications group was not immediately available to comment. Italian Tourism Minister Daniela Santanche, a member of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's far-right Brothers of Italy party, called critics of the video "snobs" and said the depiction of Venus as an influencer was aimed at attracting young people.

☆ Italy's antitrust takes steps against Meta in music rights case
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

MILAN, April 21 (Reuters) - Italy's antitrust authority said on Friday it had taken measures against Meta Platform (META.O) over an alleged abuse of its position in the country, in a probe involving the rights to music posted on the group's platforms. Last month, Meta, which owns Facebook, Whatsapp and Instagram, failed to reach a deal with the Italian society of authors and publishers SIAE, to renew copyright licenses. As a result, all songs under SIAE's books have been blocked on its platforms since March 16. The watchdog said Meta's conduct was harming competition in the market and ordered the tech giant to resume talks with SIAE. Reporting by Federico Maccioni, editing by Gavin JonesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

They are among the discordant calls made by Spanish and EU bureaucrats as Spain's drive to hand out 77 billion euros ($84 billion) in grants from EU pandemic recovery funds becomes mired in complexity, according to interviews with business associations, government officials, companies and consultants. Spain is the EU pilot project for disbursing grants from the largest stimulus package in the bloc's history, an overall pot of 724 billion euros, including loans. A year into the disbursement process, about 23.5 billion euros had been awarded as of December last year, according to the latest figures published by the government last month. That's a sluggish pace, given the EU and Spain have set a deadline of the end of this year to award all 77 billion euros. Meanwhile, only about 9 billion euros have actually reached the businesses awarded funds, according to calculations by the Esade Centre for Economic Policy, a Madrid-based think-tank that tracks the pandemic recovery cash.

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.

☆ ChatGPT can resume in Italy if meets data watchdog's demands
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Elvira Pollina | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Almost two weeks ago Microsoft Corp-backed (MSFT.O) OpenAI took ChatGPT offline in Italy after the authority, known as Garante, temporarily restricted its personal data processing and began a probe into a suspected breach of privacy rules. The authority said OpenAI is required to inform users in Italy of "the methods and logic" behind the processing of data necessary for ChatGPT to operate. OpenAI should also allow non-users to oppose "in a simple and accessible manner" the processing of their personal data to run its algorithms, Garante said. Spain's data protection agency has asked the European Union's privacy watchdog to evaluate privacy concerns surrounding ChatGPT. In February, the Italian regulator banned AI chatbot company Replika from using the personal data of users in Italy, citing risks to minors and emotionally fragile people.

☆ Analysis: Italian first! Meloni's nationalists defend cultural identity at risk of irking EU
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Angelo Amante | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/2] General view of the Colosseum next to a subway's construction sites in Rome, Italy, February 16, 2023. Almost six months after taking office, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's right-wing government is pushing out bills that promise to promote national identity, defend the traditional family, protect cultural heritage and hold back migrants. Recent proposals include a bill to safeguard the Italian language and a ban on lab-grown food. "Italian mines are made up of culture, gastronomy, language, arts, fashion, history, archaeology and monuments. "Identity messages are meant to tell the electorate that Brothers of Italy will not give up its line," analyst Panarari said.

☆ Italy sets end-April deadline for OpenAI to meet demands on ChatGPT
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MILAN, April 12 (Reuters) - Italy's data protection agency on Wednesday set an end-April deadline for OpenAI to meet its demands on data protection and privacy in order for its artificial intelligence ChatGPT chatbot service to be resumed in the country. On March 31, Microsoft Corp-backed (MSFT.O) OpenAI took ChatGPT offline in Italy after the agency, known as Garante, temporarily restricted it and began a probe into a suspected breach of privacy rules. The Italian agency accused OpenAI of failing to check the age of ChatGPT users and criticised the "absence of any legal basis" that justified the massive collection and storage of personal data. In a statement on Wednesday the Garante laid out a set of "concrete" demands to be met by the end of this month. "Only in this case .. will the authority suspend the provisional restrictions on the use of the data of Italian users ... and ChatGPT will once again become accessible in Italy," it said.

☆ Italy adopts state of emergency over migrants
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Angelo Amante | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The state of emergency will be backed by initial funding of 5 million euros ($5.45 million), the ministry for sea and civil protection said, and will last for six months. "Let it be clear, we are not solving the problem, the solution can only depend on responsible intervention by the European Union," said Nello Musumeci, the civil protection minister. The measure will allow Giorgia Meloni's right-wing government to more quickly repatriate those not allowed to stay in Italy, boosting identification and expulsion orders, a government source said. The government, in office since October, has pledged to curb mass immigration but some 31,300 migrants have arrived in Italy so far in 2023, interior ministry data shows, up from around 7,900 in the same period last year. ($1 = 0.9176 euros)Reporting by Angelo Amante, editing by Gavin Jones and Deepa BabingtonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Italy's Berlusconi spends second night in hospital, friends hopeful
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MILAN, April 7 (Reuters) - Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi spent a second night calmly in the intensive care unit of Milan's San Raffaele hospital and is reacting positively to treatment, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said on Friday. He has suffered from chronic blood cancer for some time and is in intensive care for a lung infection, his doctors said on Thursday. "(Zangrillo) told me he had a good sleep, that he is under intensive care and is reacting positively to the treatment," Tajani said. Berlusconi's Forza Italia party is part of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's right-wing coalition, though he does not have a direct role in her government. Meloni and Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini said on Thursday they had spoken to Berlusconi by telephone.

[1/6] Pope Francis presides over the Good Friday Passion of the Lord service in Saint Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, April 7, 2023. Vatican Media/Handout via REUTERSROME, April 7 (Reuters) - Pope Francis presided at one indoor service on Good Friday, but doctors ordered him to skip an outdoor evening "Way of the Cross" procession at Rome's Colosseum after being hospitalised last week for bronchitis. Friday marked the first time since his election in 2013 that Francis missed a Way of the Cross event. The last pope to skip a Good Friday Way of the Cross service was Pope John Paul II. He is due to preside at an Easter vigil Mass on Saturday night in St. Peter's Basilica, and on Easter Sunday he is due to say Mass in St. Peter's Square and then deliver his twice-annual "Urbi et Orbi" (to the city and the world) blessing and message in St. Peter's Square.

☆ Births in Italy hit record low in 2022, population shrinks further
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

April 7 (Reuters) - Births in Italy dropped to a new historic low below 400,000 in 2022, national statistics bureau ISTAT said on Friday, as the population continued to shrink. Last year Italy recorded more than 12 deaths for every seven births and the resident population fell by 179,000 to 58.85 million, ISTAT said in its annual demographic report. The population decline slowed somewhat compared with 2021 and 2020, two years heavily affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Italy recorded 392,600 births in 2022, down from 400,249 the previous year, ISTAT said, the 14th consecutive fall and the lowest number since the country's unification in 1861. Foreigners made up 8.6% of the country's population in 2022, for a total of 5.05 million.

☆ Italian bank loans to firms fall as demand weakens: central bank
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 7 (Reuters) - Bank loans to companies in Italy declined sharply between November and February as demand weakened and interest rates rose, the Bank of Italy said on Friday. In the three months to February loans to the non-financial sector fell overall by 3.2% year-on-year, driven down by 7.5% drop in credit to companies, the Bank of Italy said in its quarterly bulletin. Between November and February the average interest rate on new bank loans to firms increased by 60 basis points (0.6%) to 3.6%, the central bank said. Loans to families in the three months to February edged down by 0.1% year-on-year, as demand for house mortgages declined, it added. Reporting by Alberto Chiumento, Luca Fratangelo, editing by Gavin Jones andOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Italy set to confirm deficit targets for this year and next -sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( Giuseppe Fonte | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The government is also expected to keep its 3.7% deficit goal for 2024. All figures in the document are still subject to changes as talks within the Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's government continue, the sources cautioned. Italy is due to receive roughly 200 billion euros in grants and cheap loans through 2026, making it the bloc's largest beneficiary in absolute terms. However, the government is falling behind both on targets and milestones agreed with Brussels in return for the aid, and on spending money already received. ($1 = 0.9163 euros)Reporting by Giuseppe Fonte, editing by Gavin Jones and Tomasz JanowskiOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

[1/5] A supporter of former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi stands near the 'San Raffaele' hospital, where former Italian Prime Minister is hospitalised, in Milan, Italy, April 7, 2023. REUTERS/Claudia GrecoMILAN, April 7 (Reuters) - Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is "better than he was", his friend Fedele Confalonieri said on Friday after visiting him in hospital, where he is being treated for a lung infection caused by chronic leukaemia. "I'm sure he'll make it because he's a strong man, and because he's the best prime minister we've had in Italy. A friend of Berlusconi, Vittorio Sgarbi, said before he went into hospital the two had discussed his future. Berlusconi's Forza Italia party is part of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's right-wing coalition, although he does not have a direct role in her government.

In recent weeks authorities made it harder for same-sex couples to be legal parents and lawmakers proposed an anti-surrogacy law widely seen as targeting gay couples. In January, the government issued orders that municipalities stop the registration of most children with same-sex parents, complicating access to schooling and medical services. Rainbow Families, a group representing same-sex parents in Italy, says its members are parents to around 1,500 children, but that this underestimates the national total. In some places, already-registered children of same-sex families are now being erased from the records, upon the initiative of prosecutors. In similar cases previously, judges have routinely ruled against same-sex parents.

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