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Meloni's administration wants to secure public control of TIM's grid, but there is no common ground within the government on how to achieve this. KKR, which has already invested 1.8 billion euros ($1.9 billion)on TIM's grid, has now bid for a controlling stake in a unit comprising the entire TIM's domestic fixed access network and submarine cable business Sparkle. Ceding control of TIM's grid is a main plank of TIM Chief Executive Pietro Labriola's efforts to cut the former phone monopoly's 25 billion euro net debt and revamp its struggling domestic business. TIM's confirmed its board would meet on Friday to discuss KKR's offer and "take appropriate decisions". CDP's potential offer has been hampered in part by regulatory concerns given it is the main investor in TIM's fibre-optic rival Open Fiber, people familiar with the matter said.

[1/2] Builders work at the construction site of an energy-saving building, making apartments more energy-efficient under the government's "superbonus" incentives, in Rome Italy, February 1, 2023. Banks have said there are more tax credits in circulation than they can deduct from their own tax bills. "We want to persuade the banks and other players to take all the stranded credits," Meloni said at the weekend, defending her decision to suddenly end further payments via tax credits. The move was triggered by an EU decision to include the tax credits in deficit calculations, potentially blowing budget plans dramatically off course. "If we had left the superbonus as it is, we would have had no money left in the budget for anything else," Meloni said.

☆ Italy working on measures to boost Milan bourse's allure
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( Giuseppe Fonte | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

With an overall capitalisation of around 680 billion euros ($726.3 billion), the value of companies listed on Milan's bourse lags far behind European Union peers. "We aim to present a bill in parliament by April to strengthen Milan's ability to encourage listing," Treasury junior minister Federico Freni told Reuters. To boost initial public offerings (IPOs) in Milan, the draft bill includes measures to simplify the listing process, which current rules companies say make it costly and cumbersome to provide adequate risk disclosure for investors. "SME qualification is currently envisaged when capitalisation does not exceed 500 million euros: such a threshold would be increased to 1 billion euros," the draft showed. This would make only the institution liable while shielding its employees including top executives, a move the Treasury believes could speed up the listing process.

☆ NHL Roundup: Canes rout Caps in Stadium Series
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +9 min

Josh Brown and Travis Boyd each had a goal and an assist, and Christian Fischer also scored. Arizona has earned points in eight straight games (4-0-4) for the first time in 11 years. Corey Perry and Vladislav Namestnikov each had a goal and an assist, and Steven Stamkos and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare also scored goals for Tampa Bay. Columbus' Mathieu Olivier collected a goal and two assists, Eric Robinson had one of each and Liam Foudy scored his first career NHL regular-season goal. Joonas Korpisalo turned aside 28 shots for the Blue Jackets, while forward Johnny Gaudreau sat out because of a lower-body injury, ending his streak of playing in 349 straight games.

☆ Italy's La Scala goes live with opera and concert streaming service
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MILAN, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Italy's La Scala has launched a streaming service allowing viewers to watch its operas, concerts and ballets online, in an effort to widen its audience worldwide. The first concert will be broadcast live on "La Scala TV" on Saturday with three Mozart symphonies conducted by Daniel Barenboim, the renowned Milan-based opera house said in a statement. With a ticket price range between 2.9 euros and 11.9 euros ($3.1-$12.7), subscribers this year can choose between seven live opera performances, nine concerts and three ballets. The online service debuted on Tuesday with Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi opera' "The Sicilian Vespers", conducted by director Fabio Lusi. "The project is part of a broader effort to modernize the theatre ahead of the 2026 Olympics" that will take place in the Milan area, La Scala said.

However, two sources briefed on the matter told Reuters that the cap did not apply to MPS, based on the Treasury's interpretation of the rule. The salary cap compares with Lovaglio's current pay of 466,000 euros a year with no variable compensation, which is already well below peers. The MPS rescue deal Italy agreed in 2017 with European Union authorities cost taxpayers 5.4 billion euros. In November he worked with Rome to pull off a make-or-break 2.5 billion euro new share issue that saw Italy pump another 1.6 billion euros into MPS. MPS already enforces EU-mandated caps to its top executives' pay, which cannot total more than 10 times the average employee salary.

MILAN, Feb 14 (Reuters) - Italy's government on Tuesday dropped legislation aimed at giving top flight soccer league Serie A the option of extending domestic broadcast deals beyond their scheduled expiry next year, documents seen by Reuters showed. That is only a half of the amount England's Premier League collects under its existing TV deals in its home market, according to UEFA data. Home to storied soccer clubs such as Juventus (JUVE.MI), AC Milan and Inter Milan, Serie A plans to seek bids for the rights to screen its matches in Italy for subsequent seasons. It was not immediately clear whether the measure would be included in any other bill at a later stage. ($1 = 0.9291 euros)Reporting by Elvira Pollina and Giuseppe Fonte, editing by Pritha Sarkar and Keith WeirOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

CDP is seeking to finalise its bid after U.S. investment firm KKR (KKR.N) last week filed its own offer for the same Telecom Italia (TIM) asset. Two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters KKR's approach valued the venture at about 20 billion euros ($21.4 billion). Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni repeatedly said her government wants to secure public control of TIM's network. But there is no common ground yet within her administration on how to reach such a goal and it was no clear whether a CDP bid would receive the blessing of the Treasury. Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti believes Rome has "multiple options" to put TIM's network under strategic government control, a separate source said, without elaborating.

☆ NHL roundup: Devils blow lead, top Canucks in OT
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Bratt, stationed in the right faceoff circle, took a no-look pass from Jack Hughes and fired a shot well beyond the glove of Canucks goalie Collin Delia. Hughes and Ondrej Palat had two goals apiece for the Devils, who scored three goals in a 50-second span midway through the second period. The Ducks scored their goals 1:26 apart in the third period to tie the score. Silfverberg tipped in a point shot from Kevin Shattenkirk to cut the lead to 2-1 at 11:04. Karel Vejmelka stopped 33 shots for the win as Arizona improved to 3-1-1 in its past five games.

☆ Italy's govt: global cyber attack did not come from state entity
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

ROME, Feb 6 (Reuters) - The global ransomware hacking attack that targeted thousands of computer servers in Italy and other countries likely came from cybercriminals and not from a state or state-like entity, Italy's government said on Monday. "No evidence has emerged pointing to an aggression by a state or hostile state-like entity", the government said in a statement, adding that no major institution or company operating in critical sectors for national security had been affected. Reporting by Giuseppe Fonte, writing by Federico Maccioni, editing by Alvise ArmelliniOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Banco BPM wants to squeeze more long-term value from retailers' payment business
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MILAN, Feb 4 (Reuters) - Italy's third-largest bank Banco BPM (BAMI.MI) is keen to generate greater value longer-term from its retailers' payment business as it explores strategic options for the unit, its chief executive said on Saturday. Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the Assiom-Forex conference in Milan, Chief Executive Giuseppe Castagna said Banco BPM was considering ways to boost profitability at its business that provides payment services to shopkeepers. "What we certainly won't do is be selling future P&L (profit and loss) inflows to get cash upfront," Castagna said. "Like with our other businesses, we're looking for ... a model that creates more value for the bank," Castagna said without elaborating. Banco BPM recently agreed to sell a majority stake in its non-life insurance business to Credit Agricole (CAGR.PA), its single biggest investor with whom it already partnered in consumer credit.

☆ A travel insider explains how people who hate cruising — can learn to enjoy it
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Monica Pitrelli | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Travel professional Tammy Cecco named the Celebrity Edge cruise ship, shown here, as one that has spacious suites and great window views. Eva Marie Uzcategui | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesOnce she "relaxed into it," Cecco said, she started to enjoy cruise ship travel. Courtesy of Tammy CeccoCecco, who often travels with her family of five and her mother-in-law, said private tours suit everyone's needs — and interests. Luciano Bullorsky ToursByLocals' President and Co-ownerCecco said she booked a private tour at "pretty much every stop" on their last cruise, plus Rome. The company said private shore tours account for nearly a third of all tours booked in 2023 — up from 12% in 2022 bookings.

☆ Beyoncé, a $100k-a-night suite and a red carpet of influencers: Dubai basks in its booming economy
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Natasha Turak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Beyoncé performs on stage headlining the Grand Reveal of Dubai's newest luxury hotel, Atlantis The Royal on January 21, 2023 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Mason Poole/parkwood Media | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty ImagesDUBAI, United Arab Emirates — It was the talk of the town. "Igniting the next chapter of the Atlantis legacy," Atlantis Dubai wrote in an official tweet along with a promotional video of the opening fireworks. Beyoncé performs on stage headlining the Grand Reveal of Dubai's newest luxury hotel, Atlantis The Royal on January 21, 2023 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. "Dubai is also growing in prominence as a financial services hub as underscored by several hedge funds opening up offices there."

Rome has been working to renew the "GACS" scheme, which expired in June, while also tightening the terms under which the state provides guarantees to investors who buy bad bank loans repackaged as securities. Under the new terms agreed with the EU, the scheme would cover 80% instead of 100% of the least risky tranche in bad debt securitisation deals, the sources said. The Treasury had also considered hiking a credit rating threshold needed for the senior tranche to qualify for the GACS guarantees, but is instead leaving it unchanged, one of the sources said. Since its launch in 2016, the GACS scheme has rid Italian banks of 117 billion euros ($127 billion) in bad debts by softening the hit from disposals to their earnings. Italy had already tightened the GACS terms in 2019, raising the senior tranche's minimum rating and introducing mechanisms to prod debt collection companies to stick to business plans.

☆ You can rent out Daphne and Harper's Sicilian villa from 'The White Lotus' for around $6,000 per night on Airbnb
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Dan Latu | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The Villa Tasca is available for around $6,000 per night with a three-night minimum on Airbnb. The Villa Tasca has inspired famous opera composers, according to its website. The Villa Tasca grounds include a 20-acre garden and citrus grove. Courtesy of the Airbnb Photographer CommunityIn "The White Lotus," the villa is located in the town of Noto, known for its baroque architecture. But the Villa Tasca actually is located in Palermo, Sicily's capital and where other tragic storylines in season 2 take place.

☆ Italy set to appoint veteran economist Barbieri as new Treasury head
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Giuseppe Fonte | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SummarySummary Companies Barbieri to replace Rivera, who failed to win over MeloniPrevious Treasury chiefs include former PM DraghiBureaucrats in Italy get substantial say in policy-makingROME, Jan 19 (Reuters) - Italy's government is set to appoint veteran economist Riccardo Barbieri as director general of the Treasury, replacing Alessandro Rivera in the influential position, the economy ministry said on Thursday. The move marks a victory for newly installed Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who was looking to remove Rivera and put her stamp on key positions. "A cosmopolitan former banker and chief economist, Barbieri is one of the Treasury senior officials who liaises more frequently with Brussels," said Francesco Galietti, head of political risk consultancy Policy Sonar. MPS is 64%-owned by the Treasury following a 2017 bailout that cost taxpayers 5.4 billion euros ($5.8 billion). Rivera spent much of his career within the economy ministry, specialised in the handling of banking and financial crises.

Lufthansa has offered to buy an initial minority stake in ITA, Italy's state-owned successor to Alitalia, it said on Wednesday. "This may be the next step in European airline consolidation," said Bernstein analyst Alex Irving, citing Portugal's national airline, TAP, as a prime target. Lufthansa, Air-France KLM (AIRF.PA) and British Airways owner IAG (ICAG.L) are potential buyers, analysts said. "At the same time, however, we closely monitor consolidation in the European airline market." Michael O'Leary, the outspoken CEO of fellow low-cost airline Ryanair (RYA.I), also weighed in with his predictions this week.

[1/2] FILE PHOTO-Planes of German air carrier Lufthansa are parked as Lufthansa pilots start a strike over a wage dispute, at the airport in Frankfurt, Germany, September 2, 2022. REUTERS/Kai PfaffenbachROME/FRANKFURT, Jan 18 (Reuters) - German carrier Lufthansa (LHAG.DE) said on Wednesday it had offered to buy an minority stake in ITA Airways, betting on reviving the loss-making successor to Italy's Alitalia and expanding its footprint in Europe. One of the sources said it was valued at 200-300 million euros ($540 million). The new right-wing administration in Rome passed a decree in December to initially sell a minority stake through capital increases, in order to speed up a full divestment in ITA. "Acquiring ITA is one of the most challenging propositions in European aviation: the airline has been persistently loss-making," said Bernstein analyst Alex Irving.

[1/2] FILE PHOTO-Planes of German air carrier Lufthansa are parked as Lufthansa pilots start a strike over a wage dispute, at the airport in Frankfurt, Germany, September 2, 2022. REUTERS/Kai PfaffenbachBERLIN/ROME, Jan 18 (Reuters) - German carrier Lufthansa (LHAG.DE) said on Wednesday it had offered to buy an initial minority stake in ITA Airways, Italy's state-owned successor to Alitalia. Lufthansa said Italy is the most important market outside of its existing home markets and the United States, noting its prominence as both a business and tourism destination. The move comes after the new right-wing administration in Rome passed a decree in December to initially sell a minority stake through capital increases, in order to speed up a full divestment in ITA. Beside its domestic German business, Lufthansa already operates the brands Swiss, Austrian Airlines and Brussels Airlines.

☆ Italy committed to secure Intel investment over chip factory, minister says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

MILAN, Jan 18 (Reuters) - Italy's government is determined to secure an investment by Intel (INTC.O) to build a chip factory in the country, the economy minister said on Wednesday. "Unfortunately, or luckily, we have had a change in the government: things have worldwide changed as regarding costs, but we are still committed", Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti said on the sidelines of a parliamentary audition. In her end-of-year news conference in December, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said she considered Intel's investment as highly strategic and would schedule a meeting with the company to explore ways to facilitate it. Giuseppe Fonte, writing by Alessia Pé, editing by Gianluca SemeraroOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Sicilian mafia boss arrested after 30 years on the run — the last of Italy's most-wanted crime lords
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( Joshua Zitser | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Matteo Messina Denaro, the boss of Sicily's Cosa Nostra mafia group, was arrested on Monday. He became a fugitive on Italy's most-wanted list in 1993, tied to a series of murders and bombings. His capture followed the arrests of other crime kingpins who had been on the run for decades. He is the last of Italy's three most-wanted mafia bosses who eluded capture for decades, per Sky News. Mafia "boss of bosses" Salvatore Riina, who spent 23 years as a fugitive, was captured in 1993.

☆ Years of cat-and-mouse end as top mafioso cornered in Italian clinic
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( Crispian Balmer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

He liked wearing designer clothes, expensive sun glasses and Rolex watches, he loved video games and had a taste for luxury foods. Messina Denaro was born in the southwestern Sicilian town of Castelvetrano in 1962, the son of a mafioso. A mass of these notes was found in 2006 when police caught Bernardo Provenzano, who had led Cosa Nostra after Riina's arrest. In a letter to a contact, Messina Denaro said he couldn't believe how careless Provenzano had been. Nonetheless, the fact he managed to escape arrest for so many years showed he had a fierce, loyal following.

☆ Italian police arrest most wanted mafia boss Messina Denaro in Sicily
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( Vladimiro Pantaleone | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

PALERMO, Italy, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Italian police said on Monday they had arrested Matteo Messina Denaro, the country's most wanted mafia boss who had been on the run for three decades, swooping on a private hospital in the Sicilian capital Palermo where he had gone for treatment. Prosecutors say Messina Denaro is a boss of Sicily's Cosa Nostra mafia. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni hailed the arrest as "a great victory for the state that shows it never gives up in the face of the mafia". Messina Denaro, who comes from the small town of Castelvetrano near Trapani, is accused by prosecutors of being solely or jointly responsible for numerous other murders in the 1990s. In 1993 he helped organise the kidnapping of a 12-year-old boy, Giuseppe Di Matteo, in an attempt to dissuade his father from giving evidence against the mafia, prosecutors say.

The EU froze funds earmarked for Hungary and Poland over their nationalist governments' track record of undercutting liberal democratic rules. Portugal had disbursed 1.4 billion euros, or 8.5% of the total recovery funds assigned to it, to project promoters by the end of 2022. Romania and Portugal are the two countries pushing hardest to extend the 2026 deadline and Spain and other Eastern European countries are supporting their demands, a source with knowledge of the negotiations said. Some countries are devising workarounds for projects that are particularly important and look like they are unlikely to meet the deadline, said a source. This would imply budgeting and allocating funds before the projects have been commissioned in order to meet the 2026 deadline, the person said.

☆ Italy's Meloni renews criticism of euro zone bailout fund
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ROME, Jan 12 (Reuters) - Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Thursday renewed her criticism of the euro zone bailout fund, a 500-billion-euro ($541.55 billion) facility held back by Rome's reluctance to ratify its recently-adopted reform. The ESM was created in 2012, replacing a temporary fund established in 2010, at the height of the euro zone's sovereign debt crisis. The ESM can offer a lifeline to euro zone governments cut off from markets, or lend to recapitalise banks and provide precautionary credit. The fund was reformed with a 2021 treaty that needs to be ratified by all members of the euro zone before it can enter into force, and Italy is the only country that is dragging its feet over the issue. New ESM tasks under the reformed treaty include providing a backstop to the Single Resolution Fund, which is responsible for dealing with failing banks in the context of the Banking Union.

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