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☆ Stellantis nears deal to buy 20% of Chinese EV maker Leapmotor - Bloomberg News
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A flag with the logo of Stellantis is seen at the company's corporate office building in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines near Paris, France, May 5, 2021. The partnership would also give Stellantis access to the EV maker's parts and certain technologies, according to the report. Stellantis, whose brands include Fiat and Peugeot, has only a very small presence in China, the world's largest auto market. The group and rivals such as Renault (RENA.PA) are concerned about growing competition from cheap Chinese electric cars in Europe. The companies are hammering out the final details of a transaction and an announcement could be made in the coming days, Bloomberg said.

Persons: Gonzalo Fuentes, Stellantis, Leapmotor, Akanksha, Gilles Guillaume, Giulio Piovaccari, Zhang Yan, Keith Weir, Shilpi Majumdar, Shweta Agarwal, Mike Harrison, Jan Harvey Organizations: REUTERS, Stellantis, Bloomberg, Zhejiang, HK, Fiat, Peugeot, Renault, Hong Kong, Guangzhou Automobile Group, Thomson Locations: Saint, Yvelines, Paris, France, China, Europe, Hong Kong, Bengaluru, Milan, Shanghai

☆ UniCredit revamps Buddy online banking service to ease cloud shift
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Unicredit Bank logo is seen in this illustration taken March 12, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsMILAN, Oct 25 (Reuters) - Italy's UniCredit (CRDI.MI) on Wednesday announced improvements to its mobile banking service Buddybank, in a move that Chief Executive Andrea Orcel said would ease the eventual transition to a cloud-based core banking infrastructure. UniCredit had managed to unify the backend structure supporting traditional commercial banking operations and Buddybank, Orcel told a press conference. To shift to Buddy R-Evolution, UniCredit customers have only to download the application in order to access their current account without any changes to their bank details. A change of bank details caused disruptions this month for customers of rival Intesa Sanpaolo (ISP.MI) which is gradually shifting younger, digitally-savvy clients to its cloud-based mobile bank Isybank.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Andrea Orcel, UniCredit, Buddy R, Orcel, Intesa Sanpaolo, Valentina Za, Keith Weir Organizations: REUTERS, Wednesday, Thomson

☆ Italy backs calls for tech firms to help fund EU telecoms networks
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ROME, Oct 24 (Reuters) - Italy broadly supports proposals at European Union level to ensure that Big Tech firms partly finance telecoms infrastructure in the bloc, Industry Minister Adolfo Urso said in a statement on Tuesday. "All market players benefiting from the digital transformation must contribute fairly and proportionately to infrastructure costs," Urso said, intervening at an EU telecoms minister meeting in Leon, Spain. However, before introducing any legislation, the EU must carefully assess whether and to what extent network infrastructure is effectively overloaded by content and services generated by Big Tech firms, Urso added. Deutsche Telekom (DTEGn.DE), Orange (ORAN.PA), Telefonica (TEF.MC) and Telecom Italia (TIM) (TLIT.MI) term it fair-share funding, while Big Tech says it amounts to an internet tax. "Italy believes the EU Commission should carry out further assessment and more time is needed to evaluate the extent of the impact of traffic generated on the network infrastructure" Urso said.

Persons: Adolfo Urso, Urso, Thierry Breton, Giuseppe Fonte, Elvira Pollina, Keith Weir Organizations: European Union, Big Tech, Industry, Google, Facebook, Netflix, Microsoft, Deutsche Telekom, Telefonica, Telecom Italia, France Telecom, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Italy, Leon, Spain, Orange

☆ Two U.S. funds to vote Mediobanca outgoing board's slate for board renewal
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MILAN, Oct 19 (Reuters) - The U.S. funds CalSTRS and New York City Comptroller said on Thursday they would vote in favour of the outgoing board's slate of nominees for the new Mediobanca board at the bank's annual meeting this month. Mediobanca's outgoing board has proposed 15 members, including a new term for current CEO Alberto Nagel and Chairman Renato Pagliaro ahead of the Oct. 28 meeting. The two funds did not disclose their stakes in Mediobanca. Proxy adviser Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), Glass Lewis and Pensions & Investment Research Consultants (PIRC) said last week they were recommending Mediobanca investors vote in favour of the outgoing board's slate of nominees. Reporting by Gianluca Semeraro editing by Keith WeirOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Alberto Nagel, Renato Pagliaro, Delfin, Leonardo Del Vecchio, Nagel, Del Vecchio, Glass Lewis, Gianluca Semeraro, Keith Weir Organizations: MILAN, New York, Services, Pensions & Investment Research Consultants, Thomson Locations: U.S, New, Mediobanca, Italian

☆ Italy remains open to investment by Intel, rival chipmakers - minister
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A smartphone with a displayed Intel logo is placed on a computer motherboard in this illustration taken March 6, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsROME, Oct 19 (Reuters) - Italy remains open to a possible investment by Intel (INTC.O) in the country and would also welcome other chip makers, Industry Minister Adolfo Urso said on Wednesday. The minister said Italy had offered a state contribution to facilitate the Intel investment and the U.S. company had not asked for more. Intel last year announced it aimed to build an advanced packaging and assembly chip factory in Italy as part of a wider long-term investment plan to expand capacity across Europe. Reporting by Giuseppe Fonte Writing by Keith Weir, editing by Alvise ArmelliniOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Adolfo Urso, Giuseppe Fonte, Keith Weir, Alvise Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Intel, Industry, U.S ., Thomson Locations: Italy, U.S, Europe

France, where Ryanair serves cities such as Marseille and Bordeaux, has floated proposals for a minimum ticket price in an effort to reduce pollution from aviation. The French price proposal, which EU officials said has drawn some support from the Netherlands and Belgium, got short shrift from senior Ryanair executive Eddie Wilson. Having established a strong position in large parts of Western Europe, Ryanair is now looking east to countries such as Poland for further growth. Europe's main airlines lobby group expressed relief and called on more European coordination to support the sector. Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr has said a stronger ITA will reinvigorate competition in the Italian market but Ryanair's Wilson is unperturbed, describing ITA as a sideshow.

Persons: Eddie Wilson, Wilson, Andrea Giuricin, Giorgia, Giuseppe Cocuzza, Ourania Georgoutsakou, Carsten Spohr, Ryanair's Wilson, Rome Fiumicino, Sacbo, Angelo Amante, Keith Weir, Joanna Plucinska, Emelia Sithole Organizations: Ryanair, Europe's, European Union, Ryanair DAC, Alitalia, TRA Consulting, European Commission, Airlines for, ITA, Lufthansa, Cortina d'Ampezzo, Thomson Locations: Italy, ROME, France, Marseille, Bordeaux, Sicily, Sardinia, Netherlands, Belgium, Europe, Western Europe, Poland, Rome, Catania, Airlines for Europe, Bergamo, Milan, Malpensa, Brescia, London

The budget bill will then go to parliament, which must pass it by the end of the year. Investors have been demanding a higher premium to hold Italian government bonds since Rome last month raised its budget deficit targets for the 2023-2025 period, setting it up for a possible clash with the European Commission. AGEING POPULATIONNext year people earning up to 28,000 euros per year will pay income tax (known as IRPEF) at 23%, according to the officials. Meloni also aims to earmark at least 1 billion euros for measures, which have yet to be detailed, aimed at addressing Italy's demographic crisis. The scheme could increase tax revenues in Italy by between 2 and 3 billion euros, one official said.

Persons: Giorgia, Giancarlo Giorgetti, DBRS, Fitch, Moody's, Meloni, Giuseppe Fonte, Keith Weir Organizations: Treasury, European Commission, P, Thomson Locations: ROME, Rome, Ukraine, Italy

☆ Eni's Plenitude revises prices for electric car charging in Italy
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Eni's (ENI.MI) Plenitude subsidiary generates power from renewables, sells electricity, gas and energy services to households and businesses, and offers power for electric cars. The unit prices for all the charging points at direct current will remain stable at between 0.85 euros and 0.95 euros per kWh depending on the speed of charging, Plenitude added. Last year the company had 13,093 charging points, of which 12,099 at alternating current and the rest at direct current. Most of the charging points are in Italy. In addition, Plenitude said it would increase penalties for customers leaving their cars parked at charging points after having finished replenishing the battery.

Persons: Molly Darlington, Plenitude, Francesca Landini, Keith Weir Organizations: REUTERS, Eni, Thomson Locations: Northwich, Britain, Italy

☆ Southern Italians stick with student life as jobs hard to find
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Oct 12 (Reuters) - Southern Italians are studying more and for longer as a shortage of jobs forces many to either stay in school or relocate, a report by national statistics bureau ISTAT showed on Thursday. "The lack of stable and good quality job opportunities in the Mezzogiorno is nothing new, but the situation among "millennials" is getting worse", ISTAT said. "The current youth of the Mezzogiorno face a longer and more complicated journey towards adulthood," it added. "It is a paradox, but in the medium-long term, this could fuel a further deprivation of human capital with advanced skills, which is indispensable for the Mezzogiorno", ISTAT said. Southern youths are dissatisfied with their economic situation and almost three quarters of them still live with their parents.

Persons: Alessandro Parodi, Keith Weir Organizations: ISTAT, Thomson Locations: Southern, Sicily, Sardinia, Italy

☆ Soccer Serie A looks at media platform as right sale faces stalemate
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-11 | by ( Elvira Pollina | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MILAN, Oct 11 (Reuters) - Italy's top flight soccer league Serie A is pressing ahead with plans to launch its own media operations with the support of financial investors as a sale process of domestic broadcasting licences struggles to gain traction, club and league officials said. The creation of a media platform to distribute Serie A matches to other TV outlets as well as the launch of a league-run live video streaming subscription service have been repeatedly floated in recent years. The launch of a TV streaming service platform to broadcast matches would a first for any major soccer league in Europe. The 20 clubs may also decide to use the league's streaming platform to screen only some of the matches, awarding part of the rights to the established broadcasters. TV rights are a key source of revenue for Serie A clubs such as this year's champions Napoli, Juventus (JUVE.MI) and Milanese clubs AC Milan and Inter.

Persons: Elvira Pollina, Keith Weir Organizations: MILAN, Serie, Sky Italia, Napoli, Juventus, Milanese, AC Milan, Inter, English Premier League, Premier League, Thomson Locations: Europe

☆ Top Italy court confirms acquittals in Monte dei Paschi derivatives case
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-11 | by ( Marco Carta | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

View of the entrance to the headquarters of Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS), the oldest bank in the world, which is facing massive layoffs as part of a planned corporate merger, in Siena, Italy, August 11, 2021. Among the 15 defendants cleared by Italy's Supreme Court of Cassation were former MPS Chairman Giuseppe Mussari and its former Managing Director Antonio Vigni and Deutsche (DBKGn.DE) and Nomura (8604.T). The appeals court cancelled seizures imposed on Deutsche Bank and Nomura Holdings Inc (8604.T) for 64.9 million and 88 million euros, respectively. The case centred on two derivatives transactions — dubbed Alexandria and Santorini — that Nomura and Deutsche Bank arranged for MPS in 2009. MPS, the world's oldest bank still in business and Italy's fifth biggest listed lender, had reached a court settlement in 2016 in the derivatives case at a cost of 10.6 million euros.

Persons: Jennifer Lorenzini, Siena, Giuseppe Mussari, Antonio Vigni, Nomura, Marco Carta, Keith Weir, Valentina Za Organizations: Monte, REUTERS, Rights, Monte dei, Deutsche Bank, Nomura, Italy's, Cassation, Deutsche, Nomura Holdings Inc, MPS, Prosecutors, Thomson Locations: Monte dei, Siena, Italy, Milan, Alexandria

That's why his remarkable, record-setting year on the PGA Tour Champions has Stricker thinking about playing more on the PGA Tour next year. “I don't know if it will work,” Stricker said at the Constellation Furyk & Friends. He already has set the PGA Tour Champions earnings record — currently $3,986,063 — and he is a lock to become the first senior player to surpass $4 million in a year. The courses on the PGA Tour Champions aren't as long and the competition isn't nearly as strong. “It's just a great time to be part of the PGA Tour,” he said.

Persons: Steve Stricker, “, ” Stricker, —, Stricker, Marco Simone, Charles Schwab, ”, “ I've, I've, I'm, Brooks Koepka, ” Stricker hasn't, Mike Weir, Weir couldn't, “ Jordan Spieth, ” Weir, Strick, “ It's, ___ Organizations: PGA, Constellation, Timuquana, Ryder, U.S . Senior, Phoenix, Ryder Cup, Sony Locations: JACKSONVILLE, Fla, Rome, Scottsdale, Europe, Oahu, Timuquana

☆ Driver may have fallen ill before fatal Venice bus crash
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-04 | by ( Claudia Greco | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/6] Flowers are seen at the site where a coach crashed off an overpass in Mestre, Italy, October 4, 2023. Five Ukrainians, a German and the Italian bus driver were among those killed, Venice's prefect Michele Di Bari, the local representative of the interior ministry, said on Wednesday. "We presume the driver may have fallen ill," Veneto regional president Luca Zaia told Rtl 102.5 radio. The bus had been ferrying the tourists back to a campsite in nearby Marghera after a day out in Venice. "I think the driver had an illness, because otherwise I can't explain it," Fiorese said, adding that the driver had started his shift less than two hours before the crash.

Persons: Claudia Greco, Michele Di Bari, Luca Zaia, Di Bari, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Corriere, Massimo Fiorese, Corriere della Sera, Fiorese, Alvise Armellini, Keith Weir, Bernadette Baum, Gavin Jones, Gareth Jones Organizations: REUTERS, Rtl, Corriere della Sera, Thomson Locations: Mestre, Italy, Venice Italian, VENICE, Venice, Veneto, Croatian, Marghera, Nigeria

☆ At least 21 dead after Italian bus carrying tourists falls from Venice overpass
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-03 | by ( Manuel Silvestri | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

VENICE, Italy, Oct 3 (Reuters) - At least 21 people died on Tuesday and 18 were injured after a bus carrying tourists to a campground crashed off an overpass near Venice in northern Italy and caught fire, city officials said. Venice city councillor Renato Boraso said one line of enquiry was that the driver, a 40-year-old Italian who was among those killed, had been taken ill before the crash. He said the coach had been carrying 40 passengers, of whom 21 had died and 18 were injured. Venice's city hall said the injured people had been taken to nearby hospitals, with four in a serious condition. The bus was also carrying passengers from France and Croatia, Italian news agency ANSA reported.

Persons: Renato Boraso, Boraso, Luigi Brugnaro, Manuel Silvestri, Michele Di Bari, ANSA, Di Bari, Giorgia Meloni, Emilio Parodi, Gavin Jones, Keith Weir, Alvise, Crispian Balmer, Lisa Shumaker, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: Sky Italia, Rescue, REUTERS, Thomson Locations: VENICE, Italy, Venice, Mestre, Venice's, France, Croatia, Verona

☆ Pirelli's Chinese investors terminate shareholder agreement
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A tyre produced by the Italian company Pirelli is on display at a dealership in Moscow, Russia, March 23, 2023. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsMILAN, Oct 3 (Reuters) - Pirelli's (PIRC.MI) Chinese investors Sinochem and Silk Road Fund have decided not to extend their agreement to work together on some issues at the tyremaker, the Italian group said on Tuesday. The two investors, which hold stakes of 37% and 9% respectively, had initially signed the shareholder agreement in 2020. As part of it, Silk Road Fund had committed to follow Sinochem's votes at Pirelli shareholder meetings on selected matters for a stake comprising 5% out of their total 9%. The agreement terminated due to its expiry on Sept. 29, Pirelli said in a statement, without providing reasons for the decision.

Persons: Maxim, Pirelli, Sinochem, Camfin, Marco Tronchetti Provera, Giulio Piovaccari, Keith Weir Organizations: Pirelli, REUTERS, Silk, Fund, Formula, Thomson Locations: Italian, Moscow, Russia, Sinochem

Security guards stand at the BYD booth at the Auto Shanghai show, in Shanghai, China April 19, 2023. Rome sees the French incentive framework as "reasonable", one of the sources said, adding the government was studying such an option. European Union competition rules do not allow countries to favour local producers. Paris has said criteria it adopted are compliant with WTO rules because exemptions are allowed for health and environmental reasons. Talks, which are expected to go on until the end of this year, include new incentive schemes in Italy.

Persons: Aly, Adolfo Urso, Giuseppe Fonte, Gilles Guillaume, Parisand Giulio Piovaccari, Giulio Piovaccari, Keith Weir Organizations: Auto, REUTERS, Reuters, European Union, Fiat, Industry, Thomson Locations: Auto Shanghai, Shanghai, China, Italy, France, Europe, Rome, Paris, Milan

☆ Explainer: What's at stake in Telecom Italia grid deal?
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

TIM is selling NetCo, a venture comprising both TIM's domestic fixed-access network and international wholesale telecoms operator Sparkle. TIM's landline network covers nearly 89% of the country's households and its fibre cable stretches over 23 million kilometres across the country. Beyond TIM's grid, a second major network is being rolled out by Open Fiber, a company controlled by CDP and Australian investment group Macquarie. There had long been talks of trying to combine TIM's network with Open Fiber but competition concerns have hampered such a deal so far. With its 24% voting stake, Vivendi could throw a spanner in the works at any TIM shareholder meeting to vote on a deal or challenge it in the courts.

Persons: Yara, Pietro Labriola's, Giorgia, Elvira Pollina, Keith Weir, Anil D'Silva Organizations: REUTERS, KKR, Italian Treasury, Telecom Italia's, TIM, WHO, Vivendi, Treasury, Trade, Macquarie, Thomson Locations: Rome, Italy

☆ Former Italian president Napolitano dies aged 98
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Former Italian President and senator Giorgio Napolitano speaks following a talk with Italian President Sergio Mattarella at the Quirinal Palace in Rome, Italy, April 13, 2018. REUTERS/Tony Gentile/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsROME, Sept 22 (Reuters) - Former Italian president Giorgio Napolitano, a onetime communist who helped to steer his country through a debt crisis in 2011, died on Friday aged 98. Condolences poured in from Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's office, other politicians, the Vatican and beyond. Napolitano became president in 2006 and was elected for an unprecedented second seven-year term in 2013. Reporting by Angelo Amante; writing by Keith Weir and Angelo Amante Editing by Gareth JonesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Giorgio Napolitano, Sergio Mattarella, Tony Gentile, Giorgia, Pope Francis, Napolitano's, Clio Bittoni, Napolitano, Pope Benedict XVI, Francis, Mario Monti, Silvio Berlusconi, Enrico Letta, Angelo Amante, Keith Weir, Gareth Jones Organizations: Italian, REUTERS, Rights, European Commission, Thomson Locations: Rome, Italy, Italian

☆ Opinion: This generation needs The Talking Heads as much as their parents did
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-22 | by ( Opinion Noah Berlatsky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

But A24’s newly restored 40th anniversary print of the band’s legendary concert film “Stop Making Sense” feels like a moment for a reappraisal. Talking Heads’ lyrics are undeniably more elliptical than N.W.A.’s or the Dead Kennedys’. “Stop Making Sense” starts off within the bounds of that New Wave approach. Byrne’s idiosyncratic dancing and physical appearance are central to “Stop Making Sense,” and he never stops being malfunctioning, android or ectomorph. “Stop Making Sense” included singers Lynn Mabry and Ednah Hold, legendary Parliament-Funkadelic keyboardist Bernie Worrell, percussionist Steve Scales and The Brothers Johnson guitarist Alex Weir.

Persons: Noah Berlatsky, CNN —, Reagan, “, ” Noah Berlatsky Noah Berlatsky, Trump, Donald Trump, he’s, Devo, Blondie, Joy, Jonathan Demme, Chris Frantz, Jerry Harrison, Tina Weymouth, Alex Weir, Bernie Worrell, David Byrne, Steve Scales, Lynn Mabry, Ednah Holt, Jordan Cronenweth, ” Byrne, Byrne, — George Clinton, James Brown, Fela Kuti —, Johnson, Harrison, Weir, Mabry, they’re, Sly, ”, Cab Calloway, Weir’s, Al, Reagan’s, — Organizations: CNN, Police, ”, tha, Reagan GOP, Reagan Library, Republican, GOP, New, Joy Division, Weymouth Locations: Chicago

☆ Facing fares row, Ryanair hit by new antitrust probe in Italy
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Ryanair said on Wednesday that internal Italian flights to Sicily would be cut by 10% in its latest winter schedule, blaming the government's planned price cap. Eddie Wilson, the chief executive of Ryanair DAC, the biggest airline in the Ryanair group, said the airline opposed the measure despite the modification. During a visit to Sicily, Wilson contrasted Ryanair's expansion of foreign flights to and from the island with the reduction on domestic routes. "Italian domestic growth has sadly been negatively impacted by the Italian government's unlawful price cap decree to restrict airlines’ freedom to set low air fares," Wilson said in a statement. Ryanair has already reduced its domestic schedule for flights to Sardinia over the winter.

Persons: International Eleftherios Venizelos, Alkis, Eddie Wilson, Wilson, Alvise Armellini, Keith Weir, Cristina Carlevaro, Jason Neely, Barbara Lewis Organizations: Ryanair, Company, Europe's, International Eleftherios, REUTERS, Ryanair DAC, Thomson Locations: Italy, Sicily, ROME, Athens, Greece, Sardinia

☆ Italy's Meloni seeks EU mission to block migrant arrivals
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-15 | by ( Yara Nardi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

LAMPEDUSA, Italy, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called on Friday for the European Union to act jointly "with a naval mission if necessary" to prevent migrants crossing the Mediterranean from North Africa. Meloni posted a video message on social media promising tough action in response to a surge in migrant arrivals this week which have overwhelmed the tiny Italian island of Lampedusa. "I intend to reiterate a request for an immediate EU mission to block the departure of migrant boats," said Meloni, for whom the swelling number of arrivals has become a major political headache. [1/6]Migrants wait at the port to be transferred to the mainland, on the Sicilian island of Lampedusa, Italy, September 15, 2023. Earlier on Friday, France agreed to work with Italy towards some sort of EU response to the crisis.

Persons: Giorgia Meloni, Meloni, Charles Michel, Lampedusa, Yara, Claudine Nsoe, Prince, Emmanuel Macron, General Antonio Guterres, Matthew Saltmarsh, Alvise Armellini, Gavin Jones, Augustin Turpin, Dominique Vidalon, Keith Weir, Mark Heinrich, Kevin Liffey, Alistair Bell Organizations: Italian, European Union, European, EU, European Commission, REUTERS, Refugee Agency, UNHCR, U.N, Thomson Locations: LAMPEDUSA, Italy, North Africa, Lampedusa, Tunisia, Tunis, Lampedusa's, Sicily, Cameroon, Libya, France, Rome, Paris

☆ Berlusconi's daughter criticises Meloni over bank windfall tax
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-15 | by ( Angelo Amante | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Marina Berlusconi and Luigi Berlusconi attend the funeral of former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi at the Duomo Cathedral, in Milan, Italy June 14, 2023. REUTERS/Yara Nardi/File photo Acquire Licensing RightsROME, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Marina Berlusconi, the daughter of former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, on Friday criticised Italy's windfall tax on banks, underlining divisions over the issue in the coalition government that includes her late father's party. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has taken personal responsibility for the measure, which targets extra profits made by banks from higher interest rates. "Who determines when a profit is extra and when it is normal?," Marina Berlusconi said to reporters after the assembly of influential Italian business lobby Confindustria. Meloni has said she was open to some modifications, provided the targeted tax take remained unchanged at "just under" 3 billion euros ($3.2 billion).

Persons: Marina Berlusconi, Luigi Berlusconi, Silvio Berlusconi, Yara, Giorgia Meloni, Pier Silvio, Meloni, Berlusconi, Fininvest, Mediolanum, Antonio Tajani, Elvira Pollina, Giuseppe Fonte, Keith Weir Organizations: Italian, Cathedral, REUTERS, Rights, Forza Italia, Thomson Locations: Milan, Italy

Spanish farmer Miguel Moreno was an early adopter of so-called cover crops. Spain's drought-hit olive oil production slumped to 663,000 tonnes last year, less than half the average of 1.45 million tons recorded in the previous four harvests, according to the government. In January, it began subsidising farmers who use cover crops as part of the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). She said the company was pushed both by customers such as Walmart in the U.S. and by regulation to buy olive oil from producers using sustainable practices. Ecology professor Manzaneda is also coordinator of EU-funded project SOIL O-LIVE and is testing methods for coaxing Albacete's degraded earth back to health.

Persons: Chiclana de Segura, Jon Nazca, Andrea Ronca, Miguel Moreno, Angel, Dcoop, Gonzalo Delacamara, Emilio Gonzalez, Antonio Manzaneda, Manzaneda, Olive, Syngenta, Luis Miranda, Domingo, Marco Trevisan, Dean, Simone Rech, Catalonia's Cava, Sebastiano Conti, Charlie Devereux, Antonella, Corina Pons, Keith Weir, Frank Jack Daniel Our Organizations: REUTERS, Companies Southern, VILLANUEVA DEL ARZOBISPO, Farmers, European Union, of Nutrition, Plant Science, IE, Water, University of Cordoba, University of Jaen, European, Walmart, Swiss, Syngenta, EU, TECH, Smart, Milan Polytechnic, University of Brescia, of Agricultural Sciences, Catholic University of Piacenza, Thomson Locations: Olive, Chiclana, Jaen, Spain, ROME, Italy, Madrid, European, France, Germany, Mantua, Andalusia, European Union, U.S, ITALY, Treviso, Venice, Sicily

☆ Italy's Lampedusa 'in crisis' with thousands of migrant arrivals - mayor
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-14 | by ( Yara Nardi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Migrants wait at the port to be transferred to the mainland, on the Sicilian island of Lampedusa, Italy, September 14, 2023. "In the past 48 hours, around 7,000 people have arrived in Lampedusa, which has always welcomed them with open arms," mayor Filippo Mannino told Italy's RTL 102.5 radio. "We stand ready to support Italy and this is what we are doing," a Commission spokesperson said. Preliminary data from Spain, another country on the EU's southern flank, showed the number of migrant arrivals to the Canary Islands more than trebled to 2,891 people in the first two weeks of September. Matteo Villa, a migration data analysis expert from the ISPI think tank in Milan, told Reuters migrant arrivals to Italy this year are close to the record registered in 2016, when more than 180,000 people came.

Persons: Yara, Lampedusa, Filippo Mannino, Giorgia, Matteo Salvini, Meloni, Matteo Villa, Gavin Jones, Alvise Armellini, Federico Maccioni, Corina Pons, Keith Weir, Janet Lawrence Organizations: REUTERS, European Commission, European Union, RTL, Thomson Locations: Lampedusa, Italy, North Africa, Tunisia, Malta, Sicily, Europe, Italian, Budapest, Brussels, Spain, Senegal, Milan, Tunis, Rome, Madrid

☆ Nothing to toast as Italy loses wine-making leadership to France
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Jennifer Lorenzini/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsROME, Sept 12 (Reuters) - Wine output in Italy looks set to fall 12% this year to below 44 million hectolitres after extreme weather and fungal diseases severely hit vineyards, Italian wine lobbies UIV and Assoenologi said on Tuesday. The tumble means Italy will lose its position as the world's largest wine producer, with France set to reclaim the number one spot for the first time in nine years. In a joint statement with food and agriculture institute ISMEA, the lobbies said that northern Italian regions were set to register a small 0.8% growth in output. "From the 2023 harvest we will certainly obtain good quality wines, with peaks of excellence," he said. Reporting by Federica Urso and Romolo Tosiani editing by Federico Maccioni/Keith WeirOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Sergio Zingarelli, Jennifer Lorenzini, Assoenologi, grapevines, Riccardo Cotarella, Livio Proietti, Federica Urso, Federico Maccioni, Keith Weir Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Thomson Locations: Chianti, Greve, Italy, France

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