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☆ Rome hopes to reverse decline and relive La Dolce Vita
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Giselda Vagnoni | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

[1/5] General view of the Colosseum next to a subway's construction sites in Rome, Italy, February 16, 2023. However, flailing public services can make La Dolce Vita seem a remote dream, for both visitors and residents alike. "It is the biggest investment plan Rome has ever had," Gualtieri told Reuters. "Milan was turned around by the EXPO and has become a city capable of attracting capital from all over the world. Rome is an incredible place and second to none," Luca Luciani, head of BAI Communications Italia, told Reuters.

☆ 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.

☆ Italy pursues Facebook-owner Meta for $925 million in sales taxes
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Emilio Parodi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

MILAN, Feb 22 (Reuters) - Facebook parent company Meta (META.O) faces a potential tax bill of around 870 million euros ($925 million) in Italy after prosecutors launched an investigation into the company, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter said on Wednesday. "We strongly disagree with the idea that providing access to online platforms to users should be charged with VAT," a Meta spokesperson said in an emailed statement to Reuters. News of an administrative tax audit into Meta was first published on Wednesday by Italian daily Il Fatto Quotidiano. ROLE OF FREE ACCESSItaly's tax police and revenue agency calculated a model under which Meta would have had to pay around 220 million euros of sales tax in Italy in 2021, according to the sources. In recent years, the Milan Prosecutor's Office has opened several tax investigations against multinational tech companies such as Google and Apple.

☆ Pope voices his concern for imprisoned Nicaraguan bishop
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

VATICAN CITY, Feb 12 (Reuters) - Pope Francis on Sunday spoke of his concern over the imprisonment of Nicaraguan Bishop Rolando Alvarez, who was sentenced to more than 26 years in prison in the Latin American country. The Pope's comments about Alvarez, who is a vocal critic of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, were made in his weekly blessing to pilgrims and tourists in St. Peter's Square. Ortega has accused Catholic leaders of attempting to overthrow him after protests that killed about 300 people in 2018. Since then, the government of the former Cold War-era Marxist rebel has expelled Catholic nuns and missionaries. Alvarez was convicted on Friday of treason, undermining national integrity and spreading false news, among other charges.

☆ Italy's Berlusconi says he wouldn't seek meeting with Zelenskiy if PM
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ROME, Feb 12 (Reuters) - Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi would not seek a meeting with Volodymir Zelenskiy if he were still head of government, because he blames the Ukrainian President for the war with Russia, he said on Sunday. Berlusconi said that if Zelenskiy had stopped attacking the two separatist republics of the Donbass the war would not have happened. "So I judge, very, very negatively, the behaviour of this gentleman", Berlusconi added. Berlusconi also urged the United States to put pressure on Zelenskiy and threaten to stop sending arms to Ukraine, while also promising a massive aid programme if it agreed to an immediate ceasefire. Reporting by Giselda Vagnoni; Editing by David HolmesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Italy to sign gas turbines contract with Azerbaijan
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ROME, Feb 11 (Reuters) - Italy is set to sign a new contract to sell four gas turbines to Azerbaijan, its industry minister said on Saturday ahead of his visit to the Asian country that is one of Rome's most important energy partners. The deal will involve Italy's Ansaldo Energia, a service provider for the power generation industry, and Azerenerji, the country's largest electrical power producer, minister Adolfo Urso said in a statement. The news comes after Italy last month signed a $8 billion gas production deal with Libya aimed at boosting energy supplies to Europe. Italy is working to double to 20 billion cubic meters the capacity of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), which brings Azeri gas to Apulia in the southeast of the country. Rome sees a role for itself as a hub for gas supplies to northern Europe in the coming years to help offset the loss of imports from Russia.

☆ ECB must avoid unnecessary rise in real interest rates - Visco
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ROME, Feb 11 (Reuters) - The European Central Bank (ECB) must avoid pushing real interest rates too high, given the level of private and public debt in the euro area, a top Italian policymaker said on Saturday. The ECB has raised interest rates by 3 percentage points since July and promised a 50 basis-point hike for March. "Today, disinflation is obviously needed, but given the levels of private and public debts that prevail in the euro area, we must be careful to avoid engineering an unnecessary and excessive rise in real interest rates," Visco told the Warwick Economics Summit. Politicians in Italy have expressed concerns about the impact of rising interest rates given the country's huge debts. Visco said ECB rates must continue to rise "in a progressive but measured way, on the basis of the incoming data and their use in the assessment of the inflation outlook".

☆ Italy PM to meet with Intel to "facilitate" chip factory investment
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ROME, Dec 29 (Reuters) - Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Thursday she would request a meeting with representatives of Intel (INTC.O) to discuss a possible multibillion-euro investment by the U.S. chipmaker in Italy. Intel earlier this year announced it aimed to build a chip factory in the country as part of a wider plan to invest as much as 80 billion euros ($85.15 billion) over the next decade in building capacity across Europe. The deal, which is expected to involve state subsidies, has not yen been finalised. "In the coming days I'll seek to schedule a meeting, to ask Intel what we can do to facilitate their investment in Italy, which I think is highly strategic," Meloni said during a year-end press conference. ($1 = 0.9395 euros)Reporting by Giselda Vagnoni, writing by Giulio Piovaccari, editing by Alvise ArmelliniOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Cost-of-living crisis casts shadow over Britain's Black Friday
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( James Davey | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LONDON, Nov 25 (Reuters) - Britain's retailers are hoping Black Friday discount day will get shoppers spending, though it takes place against a backdrop of a worsening cost-of-living crisis and the distraction of the soccer World Cup. And they have begun their Christmas shopping early this year to help budget their finances. In France, 70% plan to shop on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, according to research by PwC France. More than a decade since being brought to the UK by Amazon, Black Friday's worth to retailers still divides opinion. Naysayers argue the discounts suck forward Christmas sales with reduced profits and undermine consumers' willingness to pay full price again before the festivities.

[1/5] Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni speaks during a news conference to present her government's first budget in Rome, Italy, November 22, 2022. Meloni, a fiery conviction politician, has often spoken out against Italy's reliance on technocrats to solve its economic problems and lambasted alleged interference from "high international finance" and "Brussels bureaucrats". During the election campaign Meloni called in vain for her predecessor Mario Draghi to freeze the sale of a majority stake in ITA. PUSHBACKDeputy Economy and Finance Minister Maurizio Leo, an adviser to Meloni, had proposed splitting his ministry by hiving off the finance department responsible for tax matters. The head of the finance department, Fabrizia Lapecorella, has asked to move to another ministry, two sources said.

"Anyone who believes it is possible to trade Ukraine's freedom for our peace of mind is mistaken," Meloni said. The government is Italy's most right-wing administration since World War Two and former close ties between Moscow and both Berlusconi and Salvini have raised concerns over its foreign policy. Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Deputy Prime Minister and Infrastructure Minister Matteo Salvini and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani attend the lower house of parliament ahead of a confidence vote for the new government, in Rome, Italy, October 25, 2022. Meloni's supporters gave her a standing ovation after her 70-minute speech, with some chanting: "Giorgia, Giorgia". A similar ballot is expected in the upper house Senate on Wednesday, where Meloni also enjoys a clear majority.

☆ 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.

☆ Italy OKs process to grant state guarantees for Enel credit facility - source
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Companies Enel SpA FollowMILAN, Oct 19 (Reuters) - Italy's Treasury has given a preliminary go-ahead to a request by utility Enel (ENEI.MI) to tap state guarantees for an up to 16 billion euro ($16 billion) credit facility provided by a pool of banks, a source with knowledge of the matter said. The preliminary green light from the ministry sets in motion a process that entails numerous approval steps and stretches over several weeks. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterUnder the process, the boards of the banks in the pool will need to approve the credit facility. Italian state exports credit agency SACE will need to clear the guarantees which will then need a final green light from the ministry itself. Europe's biggest utility has asked to tap a state guarantee scheme Rome has designed to help domestic companies hit by surging energy prices.

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."

Fabio Panetta, director of international and European relations at the European Central Bank, attends the award ceremony for the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany at Bellevue Palace in Berlin, Germany, January 31, 2020. REUTERS/Annegret HilseROME, Sept 20 (Reuters) - ECB board member Fabio Panetta is resisting calls from Giorgia Meloni, the front-runner to be Italy's next prime minister, to take the job of economy minister should the rightist bloc win election on Sunday, two political sources told Reuters. Meloni, the leader of the Brothers of Italy party, wants Panetta to replace Daniele Franco at the helm of the Italian Treasury, but Panetta has made it clear he is not interested in the role, the sources said. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterPanetta, 63, is a veteran of more than three decades at Italy's central bank and has sat on the Executive Board of the European Central Bank (ECB) since the start of 2020. A third, separate source close to the matter confirmed Panetta was the leading candidate to replace Visco.

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