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☆ Stellantis aims to relieve 'charging anxiety' with new service for EV users
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"We look forward to discussing more of that soon," Ricardo Stamatti, senior vice president of the new Charging & Energy Business Unit, said. "The margin on energy (used for charging points) itself is fairly rich," he said. "But ultimately charging is going to be more than energy, it's going to be about what people do while charging (...), think of advertising, retail, media consumption". The Free2move Charge "ecosystem" will offer other services for private customers of Stellantis brands including support for home charging facility installation, and for businesses. It will also allow access to a network of public charging points "through partners" in North America, Europe, and other regions to be announced later, Stellantis said.

Persons: Ricardo Stamatti, Stellantis, Ram, Stamatti, Giulio Piovaccari, Keith Weir, Susan Fenton Organizations: Energy, Ford, General Motors, Energy Business Unit, Jeep, Peugeot, Fiat, Opel, Investments, Thomson Locations: Europe, MILAN, North America

☆ Italy's Brembo wary of getting dragged into Pirelli's China dispute
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Giulio Piovaccari | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Rome's move will limit the influence of its largest investor, China's Sinochem which has a 37% stake. China is the third-largest market for Bergamo-based Brembo, after the United States and Germany. "If China should somehow retaliate, it wouldn't be just Brembo to suffer, but the whole Italian economy," the source said, referring to the extensive business interests of Italian companies in China. PUTTING THE BRAKES ONAnalysts have speculated about a possible long-term plan to merge Brembo and Pirelli, two of Italy's largest components suppliers in the automotive industry. Pirelli has a market cap of around 4.5 billion euros ($4.9 billion), broadly in line with 4.8 billion euros for Brembo.

Persons: Brembo, Camfin, Marco Tronchetti Provera, Sinochem, Gold, Carlo Alberto Carnevale Maffè, Tronchetti, They've, Giulio Piovaccari, Keith Weir, Sharon Singleton Organizations: MILAN, Pirelli, Reuters, Gold Phoenix, Bocconi University's School of Management, Thomson Locations: China, Bergamo, United States, Germany, Rome, Netherlands

☆ Italy's Brembo to move to Amsterdam to increase M&A options
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MILAN, June 20 (Reuters) - Italy's Brembo (BRBI.MI) is to move its legal headquarters to the Netherlands and strengthen its loyalty share scheme in a move aimed at increasing M&A opportunities, the premium brake maker said on Tuesday. The announcement follows similar moves by other major Italian companies, including Ferrari (RACE.MI), Exor (EXOR.AS), Mediaset (MFEB.MI) and Campari (CPRI.MI), to establish in the Netherlands to enjoy the benefits of the country's favourable loyalty share legislation. Brembo's tax residence will remain in Italy while its shares will continue to be listed in Milan, the group said. "Brembo intends to continue to grow and remain a competitive key player in the global automotive market that is currently undergoing a great transformation," he said. Reporting by Giulio Piovaccari and Francesca Landini; editing by Keith Weir and Conor HumphriesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Brembo, Matteo Tiraboschi, Camfin, Marco Tronchetti Porvera, Giulio Piovaccari, Francesca Landini, Keith Weir, Conor Humphries Organizations: MILAN, Ferrari, Brembo's, Citigroup, Brembo, Pirelli, Thomson Locations: Netherlands, Italy, Milan

☆ Stellantis, Foxconn form 50-50 JV on semiconductors for auto industry
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] The logo of Stellantis is seen on a company's building in Velizy-Villacoublay near Paris, France, February 23, 2022. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes/File PhotoMILAN, June 20 (Reuters) - Carmaker Stellantis (STLAM.MI) and iPhone assembler Foxconn (2317.TW) have created a 50-50 joint venture to design and sell semiconductors for the automotive industry from 2026. The joint venture, called SiliconAuto, will supply Stellantis, including its new 'STLA Brain' electronic and software architecture, Foxconn and other customers, the two companies said in a statement. The deal, for which no financial details were provided, follows a preliminary agreement that Stellantis and Foxconn signed in December 2021 to partner in semiconductors for the automotive industry. Separately, Stellantis and Foxconn already have the Mobile Drive joint venture to develop in-car and connected-car technologies for the auto industry.

Persons: Gonzalo Fuentes, MILAN, Foxconn, Stellantis, Ned Curic, SiliconAuto, Giulio Piovaccari, Keith Weir Organizations: REUTERS, Fiat, Peugeot, Thomson Locations: Velizy, Villacoublay, Paris, France, Netherlands

☆ Rome to open ancient square where Julius Caesar was killed
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/5] General view shows the archaeological area of Largo Argentina a day before it reopens to the public after restoration, in Rome, Italy June 19, 2023. REUTERS/Remo CasilliROME, June 19 (Reuters) - History buffs will be able to stroll close to the spot where legend says Julius Caesar met his bloody end, when Rome authorities open a new walkway on the ancient site on Tuesday. According to tradition, he died in the capital's central Largo Argentina square - home to the remains of four temples. Italian fashion house Bulgari funded the work at a site that was first discovered and excavated during building work in Rome in the 1920s. The area - close to where Caesar is supposed to have exclaimed "Et tu, Brute?"

Persons: Remo Casilli ROME, Julius Caesar, William Shakespeare, Caesar, Brutus, Keith Weir, Andrew Heavens Organizations: REUTERS, Thomson Locations: Largo Argentina, Rome, Italy, Italian

☆ Adam Hadwin mistakenly leveled by security when celebrating Nick Taylor's fairytale Canadian Open win
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Jack Bantock | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Hadwin was quickly helped back to his feet, with footage showing him stood arm in arm with the security guard shortly after. A security guard stops Hadwin as Taylor celebrates. It put him level at the top of the leaderboard with England’s Tommy Fleetwood, in pursuit of a first PGA Tour title. That sent the pair into the first PGA Tour playoffs of their careers, and after three holes, they still could not be separated. A remarkable uphill putt saw Taylor eagle for the win to become the first Canadian since Pat Fletcher in 1954, and the sixth in history, to win his country’s National Open.

Persons: Nick Taylor’s, caddie Dave Markle, Adam Hadwin, Hadwin, Taylor, Markle, Nathan Denette, ”, ” Taylor, “, –, Jessica, “ I’m, revelled, Justin Thomas, Tyrrell Hatton, Tommy Fleetwood, Pat Fletcher, Mike Weir, Corey Conners, I’ve Organizations: CNN, Canadian, Oakdale, Twitter, ” CNN, PGA, –, Fleetwood, Minas Panagiotakis, Getty Locations: Canadian, Winnipeg

☆ A Writer Recognizes Herself in Another Writer’s Story
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Jean Hanff Korelitz | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

THE MYTHMAKERS, by Keziah WeirWhat navel-gazers we writers of fiction are! It’s an attribute few of us would deny, but while it most often evokes autobiography, even those of us who tend not to mine our “lived experience” are still drawn back ceaselessly into the great and fascinating murk that is … writing about writing fiction. Some of us — myself included (see: “The Plot”) — have an insatiable appetite for stories that grapple with these issues. I am happy to report that Keziah Weir’s assured first novel, “The Mythmakers,” is a laudable addition to a reading list that already includes such standouts as Meg Wolitzer’s “The Wife,” Karen Dukess’s “The Last Book Party,” Andrew Lipstein’s “Last Resort” and R.F. Kuang’s new novel, “Yellowface.” In “The Mythmakers,” most of the relevant offenses surround a recently deceased novelist named Martin Keller as a young journalist sets out to investigate a simple act of appropriation and finds something far more complex and — for any writer — infinitely more shameful.

Persons: Keziah Weir, Weir’s, Meg Wolitzer’s “, ” Karen Dukess’s “, ” Andrew Lipstein’s, Martin Keller

☆ Pope Francis in hospital for second abdominal surgery in two years
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( Philip Pullella | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] Pope Francis greets a nun during the weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, June 7, 2023. REUTERS/Yara NardiROME, June 7 (Reuters) - Pope Francis was admitted to a Rome hospital on Wednesday for another abdominal operation under general anaesthesia, this time to repair a hernia most likely caused by scars from surgery in 2021. The pope's medical team had decided in recent days that surgery was required because the condition was causing painful, intestinal occlusions. Francis is known to be afraid of the negative effects of general anaesthesia, which are also more common in older people. The statement said the pope would undergo a laparotomy, or open abdominal surgery, and that a prosthesis would be used to reconstruct the abdominal wall.

Persons: Pope Francis, Yara, Francis, Vatican, Keith Weir, Federico Maccioni, Crispian Balmer, William Maclean Organizations: Vatican, REUTERS, Fiat, Catholic, Argentine, Thomson Locations: St, ROME, Rome, Mongolia, Portugal, Lisbon

☆ ECB's Visco says falling energy prices should help tame inflation
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ROME, June 3 (Reuters) - The rapid decline in energy costs should help to tame inflation in Europe, Bank of Italy governor Ignazio Visco said on Saturday, urging companies not to seek to boost their margins by leaving prices higher for longer. Visco, a member of the European Central Bank's governing council, said the key issue was what happened to inflation now that energy prices had retreated from peaks hit after last year's Russian invasion of Ukraine. Core inflation, which excludes volatile food and fuel prices and which has played an increasing role in the ECB's policy deliberations, fell to 5.3%. Visco warned against a wage-price spiral, saying salary rises should come against a backdrop of a growing economy rather than chasing inflation. "It is not in the interest of companies themselves ... to fail to reflect the lower cost of energy in their prices because then the cost of financing would rise," he added.

Persons: Ignazio Visco, Visco, Keith Weir, Giles Elgood Organizations: Bank of Italy, European Central, ECB, Thomson Locations: Europe, Ukraine, Turin

☆ Pope to visit Mongolia, home to just 1,300 Catholics
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-03 | by ( Philip Pullella | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Last August, Francis named Archbishop Giorgio Marengo, an Italian, the first cardinal to be based in Mongolia, where he is the Catholic Church's administrator. According to Fides, the news agency of the Vatican's missionary activities, there are about 1,300 baptized Catholics in Mongolia among a population of about 3.3 million people. Although the number of Catholics in Mongolia is smaller that most individual parish churches in many countries, the country is significant for the Vatican. Mongolia, once known as Outer Mongolia, was part of China until 1921, when it achieved independence with the help of the then Soviet Union. Francis is due to visit Portugal from Aug. 2-6 to attend the World Youth Day in Lisbon and visit the Shrine of Fatima.

Persons: Pope Francis, Matteo Bruni, Francis, Archbishop Giorgio Marengo, Marengo, Fides, Keith Weir, Toby Chopra, Mark Potter Organizations: CITY, Roman Catholic Church, Vatican, Catholic, U.S . State Department, Fatima, Thomson Locations: Mongolia, China, Rome, Africa, Soviet Union, Inner Mongolia, Western Europe, Portugal, Lisbon, India

[1/2] A view shows the Ponte Vecchio bridge and the Arno River in Florence October 16, 2014. The Ponte Vecchio, or Old Bridge, crosses the River Arno at its narrowest point. REUTERS/Regis DuvignauROME, June 1 (Reuters) - Florence wants to ban residential properties in its historic centre from being used for short-term rentals by platforms such as Airbnb (ABNB.O) in order to free up more homes for local people in the Tuscan city. Nardella is a member of the centre-left Democratic Party (PD), which is part of the opposition at national level. Airbnb did not immediately comment on Nardella's initiative, but said in a statement that it wanted to see "clear and simple national rules" in Italy.

Persons: Regis Duvignau ROME, Dario Nardella, Federica Urso, Federico Maccioni, Keith Weir, Crispian Balmer Organizations: REUTERS, Democratic Party, Thomson Locations: Florence, Ponte, Tuscan, Nardella, Italy, Rome, Milan

☆ Italy's La Scala to open new season with Verdi classic
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( Sara Rossi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] People watch a live broadcast of Modest Musorgskij's opera "Boris Godunov" on a giant screen at the Vittorio Emanuele II Gallery during La Scala Opera House's gala season opener in Milan, Italy, December 7, 2022. The opening night of the La Scala season has become a highlight of the calendar for the country's business and political elite, coinciding with the city's Feast of St. Ambrose holiday. Verdi's works have been performed at La Scala since 1839 and the choice of a historical work by a local favourite is likely to prove less contentious on Dec. 7. La Scala last year mitigated the impact by cutting consumption of gas and electricity by 22% and around 15% respectively, its artistic director Dominque Meyer said on Monday. In its new season, La Scala will host 14 operas, seven ballets, as well as concerts featuring Italian conductor Riccardo Muti, Briton Daniel Harding and Russian-born Kirill Petrenko.

☆ ION unlocks financing to finalise Italy's Prelios buy-sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ION has been in talks for months with U.S. investment fund Davidson Kempner to acquire Prelios, a bad loan specialist which DK took private in 2018. While not all of the banks have completed all the necessary internal steps to approve the financing the sources said the finalisation of the deal was imminent. A stalemate over the duration of the financing has been overcome through a 'bridge to bond' structure with a longer maturity than usual, one of the sources said. 'Bridge to bond' financing normally requires the borrower to tap markets within 12-18 months to repay the loan. ION has a single-B credit rating - below the 'BBB' investment grade threshold - by Moody's and S&P Global, according to Refinitiv data.

☆ Mount Etna eruption halts flights to Sicily's Catania airport
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

ROME, May 21 (Reuters) - Flights serving the eastern Sicilian city of Catania were halted on Sunday after an eruption from nearby Mount Etna spewed volcanic ash onto its runways, airport authorities said. The 3,330 metre (10,925 ft) high volcano can burst into spectacular action several times a year, firing lava and ash high over the Mediterranean island. Flights to and from Catania, a popular tourist destination, would be suspended until normal safety conditions could be guaranteed, the airport said on Twitter. Cars in the city were covered in a layer of dark gritty dust, images in the Italian media showed. Writing by Keith Weir; editing by Barbara LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Koepka chasing PGA Championship hat-trick as sun returns to Oak Hill
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( Steve Keating | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ROCHESTER, New York, May 21 (Reuters) - After a nasty week of frost, wind and torrential rain the sun returned to Oak Hill on Sunday for the final round of the PGA Championship with Brooks Koepka holding a one shot lead looking to complete a Wanamaker trophy hat-trick. The big-hitting American will head out onto the challenging East Course at 2:30 pm ET (1830 GMT) paired with the 11th ranked Hovland. A victory by Koepka or DeChambeau would not end the human rights questions but would give the tour a bit of the credibility and legitimacy it seeks. McIlroy, an honorary member at Oak Hill, has looked out of sorts all week but the battling Northern Irishman has managed stay in the hunt at five back. Block, who has "Why Not" written on his golf balls, has become the every man bluecollar hero and gallery darling at Oak Hill by carrying the hopes and dreams of every duffer who has picked up a club.

☆ Italy's Meloni visits flood-hit Emilia-Romagna region
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ROME, May 21 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni visited flood-hit areas of northern Italy on Sunday after returning early from the G7 summit in Japan to lead the response to the disaster. Around 36,000 people have been forced to leave their homes, and many of those who remained in flooded areas were left without electricity. Agriculture has been hit hard in an area which grows fruit such as peaches, kiwis and apricots, as well as corn and grain. Meloni had left the Group of Seven (G7) summit in Hiroshima a day earlier than scheduled, saying her conscience would not allow her to stay away longer. The Italian government will hold a cabinet meeting on Tuesday to decide on measures to help people to cope with the emergency.

☆ Trevi Fountain water turns black in Rome climate protest
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/4] Climate activists pour vegetable charcoal in the Trevi Fountain water, during a demonstration against fossil fuels, in Rome, Italy May 21, 2023 in this image obtained from social media. Allesandro... Read moreROME, May 21 (Reuters) - Seven young activists protesting against climate change climbed into the Trevi Fountain in Rome on Sunday and poured diluted charcoal into the water to turn it black. The protesters from the "Ultima Generazione" ("Last Generation") group held up banners saying "We won't pay for fossil (fuels)," and shouted "our country is dying". Rome mayor Roberto Gualtieri condemned the protest, the latest in a series of acts targeting works of art in Italy. The tradition is for visitors to toss coins into the famous 18th century Trevi Fountain to ensure that they will return to Rome one day.

☆ ECB eyes additional steps to tackle bank deposit risks
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The ECB said it was actively working with other global supervisors to understand which lessons could be learnt. "It may be beneficial to explore how factors such as high deposit base concentration and a predominant reliance on uninsured deposits could be dealt with in the Pillar 2 framework," the ECB said. The ECB can impose additional capital and liquidity requirements if it sees fit. It would use liquidity requirements to address liquidity risks. The Pillar 2 liquidity framework focuses on liquidity risks that are not fully addressed by Pillar 1 requirements: the Liquidity Coverage Ratio (LCR) and the Net Stable Funding Ratio (NSFR).

☆ Nina Gold on creating film stars, audition tapes, and why she'll never act
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Thomas Page | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

This is the same Nina Gold who’s made a successful career casting some of the defining films and TV shows of this century. “I still don’t really understand what it is that makes acting good,” she says. For “Bad Sisters’” smarmy, abusive antagonist John Paul, Gold cast Claes Bang. For Gold and her team – rising to six people, depending on projects – it’s a lot of logistics and audition tapes. Gold cast Taylor-Johnson in his breakout role as John Lennon in “Nowhere Boy” (2009) at age 18-20, she guesses, but had been auditioning him since about the age of nine.

The case stems from the estate of Gianni Agnelli, the celebrated Fiat boss who was a symbol of Italy's post-war economic boom and died two decades ago. The second pact covered what would happen to the estate of Margherita's mother Marella, who died only in 2019 aged 91. Italian law prohibits such inheritance pacts. Dicembre is at the heart of a web of companies spanning the vast Agnelli family investments. Giovanni Agnelli BV in turn has a 53% controlling stake in listed Exor, which owns stakes in Stellantis, Ferrari and Juventus.

☆ From 1880s Brooklyn, the Weir Greenhouse Returns
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( John Freeman Gill | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

By 2011, vandals and a century-plus of weather had rendered the fragile greenhouse a virtual ruin. Many of its badly rotting ground-floor window frames had been kicked in by marauding thieves. Leaking and missing window panes abounded, with repair estimates topping $1 million. Although the hothouse was a city landmark, it was at risk of presiding over its own funeral. But in 2012, Green-Wood Cemetery swooped in to rescue it, buying the decaying treasure for $1.63 million from McGovern Florists, a flower-selling family with deep Brooklyn roots that had owned the place for 41 years.

[1/6] Firefighters work next to a flooded car, after heavy rains hit Italy's Emilia Romagna region, in Faenza, Italy, May 18, 2023. "We are facing a new earthquake," Emilia-Romagna President Stefano Bonaccini told reporters, recalling the seismic events that struck the region in 2012, destroying thousands of homes. The government has promised an extra 20 million euros ($22 million) in emergency aid, on top of the 10 million euros allocated in response to previous floods two weeks ago, which killed at least two people. At least 10,000 people were forced to leave their homes, and many of those who remained in flooded areas were left with no electricity. Heavy rains followed months of drought which had dried out the land, reducing its capacity to absorb water, meteorologists said.

CASTEL BOLOGNESE, Italy, May 18 (Reuters) - Floods that killed at least 13 people in Italy's northern Emilia-Romagna region caused billions of euros' worth of damage and hit agriculture particularly hard, the regional governor said on Thursday. "We are facing a new earthquake," Emilia-Romagna President Stefano Bonaccini told reporters, recalling the seismic events that struck the region in 2012, destroying thousands of homes. The government has promised an extra 20 million euros ($22 million) in emergency aid, on top of the 10 million euros allocated in response to previous floods two weeks ago, which killed at least two people. [1/6] Firefighters work next to a flooded car, after heavy rains hit Italy's Emilia Romagna region, in Faenza, Italy, May 18. Heavy rains followed months of drought which had dried out the land, reducing its capacity to absorb water, meteorologists said.

☆ Mediobanca buys Arma Partners to boost tech advisory offer
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Valentina Za | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The acquisition, which Mediobanca expects to boost its fee income by 10%, comes ahead of a new three-year strategy CEO Alberto Nagel will unveil on May 24. In the same year, it advised Germany's Aareal Bank (ARLG.DE) on the sale of a stake in its $1.1 billion software unit Aareon to Advent International. The deal will boost earnings per share, based on last year's figures, Mediobanca said, without elaborating. With 86 staff and some $100 million in yearly revenue, Arma was founded in 2003 by Paul-Noël Guély, a former head of software and services investment banking at Goldman Sachs. Arma has offices also in Munich, a U.S. presence and a network of affiliated advisory firms in Japan, Australia, Israel, Turkey and Brazil.

☆ These European companies cut jobs this year
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

TECH* ERICSSON (ERICb.ST): the telecom equipment maker will lay off 8,500 employees globally as part of its plan to cut costs, a memo seen by Reuters said. * NOKIA (NOKIA.HE): the Finnish telecom equipment maker said on May 3 it plans to cut up to 208 jobs in Finland. * PHILIPS (PHG.AS): the Dutch medical equipment maker on Jan. 30 said it would cut 6,000 jobs to counter falling sales and after a massive recall of its respiratory machines. * SAP (SAPG.DE): the German software company said on Jan. 26 it planned to shed 3,000 jobs, 2.5% of its global workforce, to cut costs and focus on its cloud business. * EVONIK (EVKn.DE): the German specialty chemicals producer said on April 3 it would cut 200 jobs as part of restructuring of its pet food unit.

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