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☆ Italy's government calls crisis meeting over surging pasta prices
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MILAN, May 4 (Reuters) - Italy's Industry Minister Adolfo Urso called on Thursday for a crisis meeting over prices for pasta, the country's favourite staple, after they jumped by more than double the national inflation rate. Urso's ministry said the cost of spaghetti and other pasta products rose year-on-year by 17.5% in March despite a drop in wheat prices. In that month, Italian EU-harmonised consumer prices (HICP) rose overall by 8.1%. Italian inflation rose by even more in April to 8.8% year-on-year, driven by a fresh spike in energy prices, national statistics agency ISTAT said on Tuesday. 'Core' inflation, net of fresh food and energy, was stable at 6.8% year-on-year.

☆ Topless Italian climate protesters block Rome traffic
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ROME, May 4 (Reuters) - Topless climate activists on Thursday blocked traffic on a busy street in central Rome to protest over the Italian government's climate policy after torrential rains killed two people. The stunt marked a change of tactics by the Ultima Generazione (Last Generation) group after Rome's right-wing executive introduced stiff fines against protesters who target monuments and heritage sites. On Thursday, Last Generation released footage showing a small group of activists kneeling on zebra crossings in Rome and taking off their tops or - in one case - stripping naked. Activists blame the extreme weather on climate change due to fossil fuels. Reporting by Gianluca Semeraro; editing by Alvise Armellini, Alexandra HudsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Italy's Poste CEO says firms to use balance sheet in Eurovita rescue
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MILAN, May 4 (Reuters) - Italian banks and insurers that are being called upon to rescue struggling life group Eurovita will help by using their balance sheet, Poste Italiane's CEO said on Thursday, without elaborating. The Poste Italiane chief executive said all the main Italian insurers and banks distributing products by Cinven-owned Eurovita were working on a possible solution. "Everybody would use their balance sheet instead of funding a recapitalisation," he said, adding he could not explain more. Italian authorities have taken over management of Eurovita and are working on brokering a rescue after strong-arming Cinven into pumping 100 million euros of capital into the insurer. For insurers that rely on banks and financial advisers for their distribution, redemptions totalled 119% of premiums.

☆ Generali agrees sale of German specialised pension unit to Fosun-backed company
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MILAN, May 4 (Reuters) - Italy's top insurer Generali (GASI.MI) said on Thursday it had agreed to sell its German specialised pension unit to Fosun-backed Frankfurter Leben as it seeks to improve profitability in the life business and free up capital. By selling Generali Deutschland Pensionskasse (GDPK), the Italian insurer will add one percentage point to its Solvency position and around 10 percentage points to that of its German holding company, it said in a statement. In 2019 Generali sold a majority stake in life insurer Generali Leben, to private equity-backed Viridium, as it sought to cut risks on savings business amid record low interest rates. Generali said that the deal to sell GDPK was expected to be completed by the end of 2023, subject to the approval of the German financial regulator BaFin and some local anti-trust authorities. Frankfurter Leben Group is majority-owned by Fosun International (0656.HK) and specialises in buying life insurance portfolios from other insurers and continuing to manage them.

☆ Credit Agricole has no plans to raise stake in Italy's Banco BPM
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Credit Agricole emerged as Banco BPM's single biggest investor a year ago, shortly after UniCredit (CRDI.MI) ditched a buyout offer for the smaller rival. Credit Agricole recently increased its initial 9.2% stake, but it would need supervisory clearance to cross the 10% threshold. When asked whether Credit Agricole could help shield Banco BPM from potential takeovers, Maioli said: "We don't play that part. Credit Agricole Italy two years ago spent 855 million euros ($941.36 million) to buy regional Italian bank Creval, after agreeing to rescue three small ailing lenders in 2017. "I think the priority of all the parties involved should be that of strengthening Italian banks," he said.

☆ Leonardo posts lower Q1 profits and earnings, but orders rise
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ROME, May 3 (Reuters) - Italy's state-controlled defence and aerospace group Leonardo (LDOF.MI) on Wednesday posted lower first-quarter profits and earnings, but reported a jump in orders and confirmed financial targets for 2023. Net profit stood at 40 million euros ($44.2 million) compared to 72 million euros 12 months earlier, while earnings before interest, taxes and amortisation (EBITA) fell year-on-year by 20.5% to 105 million euros. Revenues were flat at around 3 billion euros, while new orders rose by 28.5% year-on-year to almost 4.9 billion euros "in particular thanks to the excellent performance of helicopters," the company said in a statement. In a company-provided consensus forecast, they had expected a quarterly net profit of 48 million euros and EBITA of 120 million euros, but revenues were correctly predicted at around the 3-billion-euro mark. The 2023 guidance includes a forecast for new orders at around 17 billion euros, revenues in the 15-15.6 billion euro range, EBITA at 1.26-1.31 billion euros and group net debt of about 2.6 billion euros.

☆ Generali's No.3 investor Caltagirone withholds backing for 2022 accounts
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MILAN, April 28 (Reuters) - Italian tycoon Francesco Gaetano Caltagirone, the third-largest investor in Generali (GASI.MI), on Friday withheld his approval for the insurer's 2022 accounts, two sources said, after attempting to bring about a management shake-up last year. They proposed an alternative candidate for the job but lost out in the April 2022 shareholder vote. During the AGM, Donnet said those results put Generali "in an excellent position" to achieve all the targets of its plan to 2024. In April last year, at the height of the shareholder clash, the 2021 accounts got around 85% of AGM votes. Italy's Benetton family, with a 4.8% stake, also challenged Donnet who had the support of Generali's top shareholder Mediobanca (MDBI.MI), which holds 13% of the insurer.

☆ Exclusive: Evidence emerges of Russia’s Wagner arming militia leader battling Sudan’s army
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Nima Elbagir Gianluca Mezzofiore Tamara Qiblawi Barbara Arvanitidis | Nima Elbagir | Gianluca Mezzofiore | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

London CNN —The Russian mercenary group Wagner has been supplying Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) with missiles to aid their fight against the country’s army, Sudanese and regional diplomatic sources have told CNN. Haftar has backed the RSF, sources say, although he denies taking sides. That day, Russia airdropped surface-to-air missiles to Dagalo’s militia positions in northwest Sudan, according to regional and Sudanese sources. For years, Dagalo has been a key beneficiary from Russian involvement in Sudan, as the primary recipient of Moscow’s weapons and training. Egypt has a long-standing relationship with Burhan and has privately backed him in the power struggle, according to Sudanese and regional diplomatic sources.

☆ Juventus await decision on appeal against 15-point deduction
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Italy's Sports Guarantee Board held a hearing earlier on Wednesday and a decision was expected either later on Wednesday or on Thursday. Juventus, the most successful soccer club in Italy, has appealed a sentence that Italy's soccer court issued in January following an investigation into the way the club and a number of other teams dealt with player exchange deals. As part of the January's sentence, which left Juventus outside the qualifying spots for lucrative European competitions, the court also imposed bans from holding office in Italian soccer on 11 past and present club directors. Juventus's lawyer Maurizio Bellacosa said January's sentence was "full of mistakes" and that it had to be cancelled. Reporting by Angelo Amante and Giulio Piovaccari Editing by Toby DavisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Enel agrees to sell two Peruvian assets to China's CSGI for $2.9 bln
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MILAN, April 7 (Reuters) - Italy's biggest utility Enel (ENEI.MI) said on Friday it agreed to sell its equity stakes in two Peruvian assets for $2.9 billion to China Southern Power Grid International (CSGI). Enel launched an asset sale plan in November that would narrow its focus to six core countries and cut its debt. At the end of last year, the company's net debt was down to 60.1 billion euros ($65.49 billion) from a peak of nearly 70 billion euros at the end of September. The deal is expected to reduce in Enel's consolidated debt by around 3.1 billion euros this year, with a positive impact of around 500 million euros on reported net profit. Under the agreement, Enel's Peruvian subsidiary will sell its entire stake of 83.15% in power distribution and supply company Enel Distribucion Peru and 100% of Enel X Peru, which provides advanced energy services, it said in a statement.

☆ 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.

[1/5] 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.

☆ Tottenham end unhappy relationship with Conte
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-26 | by ( Martyn Herman | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

LONDON, March 26 (Reuters) - Antonio Conte's increasingly fractious relationship with Tottenham Hotspur came to an end with the Premier League club announcing they had parted ways with the Italian on Sunday. "We can announce that head coach Antonio Conte has left the club by mutual agreement," Tottenham said in a statement. "We achieved Champions League qualification in Antonio's first season at the club. "We have 10 Premier League games remaining and we have a fight on our hands for a Champions League place," chairman Daniel Levy said in the statement. Conte leaves with Tottenham in fourth place in the Premier League and still well-placed to challenge for a top-four finish and qualify for the Champions League.

☆ Europe risks migrant surge without aid to Tunisia, Italy PM warns
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRUSSELS, March 24 (Reuters) - Europe risks seeing a huge wave of migrants arriving on its shores from North Africa if financial stability in Tunisia is not safeguarded, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Friday. Tunisia has been gripped by political upheavals since July 2021, when President Kais Saied seized most powers, shutting down parliament and moving to rule by decree. "Maybe not everyone is aware of the need to preserve the financial stability in a country which has severe financial problems," Meloni told reporters following a summit of European Union leaders in Brussels. Earlier on Friday Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani told RAI public radio Europe could see "tens, maybe hundreds of thousands" of boat migrant arrivals if economic aid is not granted soon to Tunisia. According to United Nations data, at least 12,000 of those who have reached Italy this year set sail from Tunisia, against 1,300 in the same period of 2022.

☆ UniCredit board member did not quit due to alleged spat over CEO pay - chairman
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MILAN, March 17 (Reuters) - The former head of the remuneration committee and board member of UniCredit (CRDI.MI), Jayne-Anne Gadhia, did not quit the bank due to alleged disagreements over the pay package of CEO Andrea Orcel, the chairman of Italy's No.2 lender said on Friday. UniCredit is proposing hiking Orcel's fixed salary by 30% while a corresponding increase in the variable pay would be tied to the group beating financial targets. Hitting 2023 goals would leave Orcel with the same overall pay of up to 7.5 million euros ($5.33 million) as in 2022, making him one of Europe's best paid bank executives, thanks to a reduction in the compensation's variable component, which will be all in shares and spread over a longer period. "The suggestion that Dame Jayne-Anne left the bank 'after skirmishes ... over [chief executive] pay' is false, as we have repeatedly said", Chairman Pier Carlo Padoan said in a letter to the Financial Times, referring to an opinion piece published by the British newspaper on March 13. ($1 = 0.9378 euros)Reporting by Gianluca Semeraro; editing by Federico MaccioniOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Generali provides dividend cheer, no exposure to SVB
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Gianluca Semeraro | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SummarySummary Companies 2022 operating profit 6.5 bln euros vs forecast 6.19 bln2022 dividend up 8.4%Shares rise 2%MILAN, March 14 (Reuters) - Italy's Assicurazioni Generali (GASI.MI) surprised investors on Tuesday by hiking the dividend payout on its 2022 results after posting its best operating profit ever. Finance chief Cristiano Borean also told reporters the leading Italian insurer had no exposure to collapsed U.S. lender Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) (SIVB.O) and just "a marginal" position in its third-party risk portfolio. Generali shares were up 2% in early trade, outperforming a flat Italian blue-chip (.FTMIB) index. The solvency ratio, a measure of the financial strength of Generali, stood at 221% at the end of 2022 and had risen to 230% as of March 10. ($1 = 0.9354 euros)Reporting by Gianluca Semeraro Editing by Alvise Armellini and Mark PotterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Italy's Generali reports record operating profit in 2022
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MILAN, March 14 (Reuters) - Italy's top insurer Assicurazioni Generali (GASI.MI) said on Tuesday it beat estimates with its 2022 results, posting its best operating profit ever as higher interest rates boosted the life insurance business. Net operating profit, the figure most closely watched by the market, grew 11.2% to 6.5 billion euros ($6.95 billion), above an analysts' consensus provided by the company of 6.19 billion euros. Net profit came in at 2.91 billion euros, up 2.3% from 2021, despite a negative impact from Russian investments of 154 million euros. The profit was above an analysts' consensus of 2.81 billion euros. ($1 = 0.9351 euros)Reporting by Gianluca Semeraro; editing by Alvise ArmelliniOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Monte dei Paschi investor CariFirenze doesn't plan to sell stake
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

FLORENCE, Italy, March 3 (Reuters) - A local banking foundation that invested in Monte dei Paschi's (BMPS.MI) new share issue last year said on Friday it had no plans to sell the stake it built under efforts to make the lender part of a larger banking group. Speaking to Reuters on the sidelines of an event, the chairman of banking foundation CariFirenze, Luigi Salvadori, said the Monte dei Paschi (MPS) stake was not a purely financial investment but a strategic one "because we believe there is a need for another large banking group." CariFirenze was one of several banking foundations - traditionally investors in Italian lenders - that responded to an appeal by the Italian Treasury to back the make or break share sale. "We also liked CEO Luigi Lovaglio's plan," Salvadori said. Reporting by Silvia Ognibene, Wriring by Valentina Za; editing by Gianluca Semeraro and Susan FentonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Stellantis, unions agree 2,000 voluntary job cuts in Italy this year
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MILAN, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Stellantis (STLAM.MI) and unions signed an agreement to cut up to 2,000 workers from the carmaker's Italian operations this year through voluntary redundancies, workers' representatives said on Monday. The redundancies amount to more than 4% of Stellantis' current workforce in Italy of around 47,000 people, FIM, UILM, Fismic, Uglm and Aqcfr unions said in a joint statement. Incentives will vary based on seniority and proximity to retirement age, the unions added. Proposed packages will be smaller for younger workers, while office workers will also be offered relocation schemes, unions said. The deal adds to at least two previous accords Stellantis and unions signed last year for more than 2,500 voluntary layoffs in Italy.

☆ Stellantis, unions agree 2,000 voluntary exits in Italy this year
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

☆ Death toll in Italian migrant shipwreck rises to 61
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS TV via REUTERSROME, Feb 27 (Reuters) - The death toll in a migrant shipwreck near the southern Italian coast has risen to 61, an Italian official told Reuters on Monday, as searches continued for missing people. A total of 61 people have been found dead so far, while 80 were rescued, said Manuela Curra, a provincial government official. The vessel was carrying people from Afghanistan, Iran and several other countries, and the victims included 12 children, authorities said earlier. Based on reports from survivors, authorities believe 180 to 200 people in total had been on board the vessel, she added. Charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF), operating on the ground, said they were assisting several people who had lost relatives in the shipwreck.

BERLIN, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Ukraine allies around the world lit up landmark monuments, held vigils and prepared new sanctions in a collective show of support on the first anniversary of Russia's invasion. Polish Premier Mateusz Morawiecki went to Kyiv and, together with Ukraine's prime minister, laid flowers at the Wall of Remembrance of those who died for Ukraine. The United States marked the anniversary by announcing new sanctions against Russia and its allies, new export controls and tariffs aimed at undermining Moscow's ability to wage war. EU institutions were also lit in Ukrainian colours, along with the Sydney Opera House. Kyiv says there can be no peace until Russia, which denies intentionally targeting civilians, withdraws.

Feb 19 (Reuters) - President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in an interview published on Sunday that Ukraine would maintain its months-long defence of the eastern city of Bakhmut, mindful of the price paid in human lives. Bakhmut, in the frontline Donetsk region, had a pre-war population of 70,000 but now Ukrainian officials estimate fewer than 5,000 civilians remain. It is important for us to defend it, but not at any price and not for everyone to die," Zelenskiy told the daily. Russian forces have besieged Bakhmut since July when they captured two major towns farther north. "There are no grounds at this time for the Ukrainian military to leave Bakhmut.

☆ Italian PM Meloni to visit Kyiv on Monday to meet Zelenskiy
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ROME, Feb 19 (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni will travel to Kyiv on Monday to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, a political source said on Sunday. Meloni, who took office in October, had said she planned to visit Kyiv before the Feb. 24 anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine last year. Despite friction on the issue within her rightist ruling coalition and divided public opinion, Meloni has been a firm supporter of Ukraine. Italy and France have recently finalised talks over delivery of an advanced air defence system to Kyiv in the spring. Reporting by Angelo Amante Writing by Gianluca Semeraro Editing by David Goodman and Gavin JonesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Saipem shares drop, group says cannot explain why
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MILAN, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Saipem (SPMI.MI) does not have any information explaining Monday's share movements, a spokesman for the Italian energy contractor said, after the stock closed down 5.7%. More than 10% of the share capital of the group was traded on the Milan stock exchange, according to Refinitiv data. In July a pool of lender bought Saipem's shares worth almost 600 million euros after a cash call fell short of the 2 billion euro target. BNP Paribas, Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, HSBC, Intesa Sanpaolo and UniCredit were the joint global coordinators of the Saipem issue. Reporting by Francesca Landini and Giancarlo Navach, editing by Gianluca Semeraro and Gavin JonesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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