BRUSSELS, April 20- ArcelorMittal, the world's largest steelmaker, is on track to win EU antitrust clearance to acquire Italian peer Ilva after agreeing to sell a number of significant assets across Europe, two people familiar with the matter said on Friday. ArcelorMittal has offered to sell its only galvanized steel plant in Italy, as well as units in Romania,...
MILAN— Designers are confronting what it means to be sustainable at the Milan Furniture Show. It cannot be reduced to an embellishment, "said architect Carlo Ratti, who recreated the four seasons under a crystal-topped pavilion opposite Milan's Duomo cathedral. Ratti, who runs an MIT research project exploring new technologies and design in cities, used heat...
*Greece a crossroads for new gas routes, consortium says. ATHENS, April 19- Greece has accepted a 535 million euro offer from a consortium led by Italy's Snam for a majority stake in gas grid operator DESFA, naming it the "preferred investor," its privatization agency said on Thursday. Strategically-placed, Greece could represent an important crossroads for the...
*Hungary, Poland act against foreign ownership of utilities. Hungary was one of the first European countries to turn against foreign ownership of utilities back in 2013 but there are growing signs that borders are springing up again in an industry that has struggled to make international deals pay off. "In a business as sovereign and strategic as utilities, it is...
At the opening of the trial in Rome, the U.S. investment bank the other defendants asked a three-judge panel at the Court of Accounts, which rules on abuses of public funds, to reject the case in an acknowledgement that the judges do not have jurisdiction, Marco Fratini, one of the judges, said. The U.S. investment bank maintains that derivatives contracts signed with...
At the opening of the trial in Rome, the U.S. investment bank the other defendants asked a three-judge panel at the Court of Accounts, which rules on abuses of public funds, to reject the case in an acknowledgement that the judges do not have jurisdiction, Marco Fratini, one of the judges, said. The U.S. investment bank maintains that derivatives contracts signed with...
LONDON, April 19- Talk that Saudi Arabia has its sights on $80- $100 a barrel oil again ignited a fierce rally in commodities and resource stocks on Thursday, though the potential boost to inflation globally put some pressure on fixed-income assets. The surge came on a Reuters report that OPEC's new price hawk Saudi Arabia would be happy for crude to rise to $80 or...
The U.S. investment bank maintains that derivatives contracts signed with Italy's Treasury that led to losses should be scrutinised by a civil court, not by the Court of Accounts, which rules on abuses of public funds, the sources said ahead of the first hearing in Rome. If the Court of Accounts judge accepts the Morgan Stanley claim, the state would then have three...
*Europe's STOXX 600 up 0.3 pct. LONDON/ MILAN, April 18- European shares rose to fresh seven-week highs on Wednesday, helped by well-received company results and a rally in mining stocks on the back of soaring metal prices. The FTSE rose 1.3 percent.
*After opening in Paris, JD.com plans an office in Milan. China's second-largest e-commerce business is planning an office in Milan, after opening its first in Europe in Paris in January. "We have one of the highest quality bases of consumers inside China, growing very rapidly."
MILAN— Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi says that the oil giant will invest 7 billion euros in activities in its home country of Italy over the next four years. That includes converting decommissioned terrain belonging to Eni totaling some 3 million hectares, mostly in southern Italy, to solar energy fields. The CEO also underlined Eni's conversion of refineries in...
*Vivendi says it is long-term investor in Telecom Italia. PARIS, April 17- France's Vivendi is asking Telecom Italia investors to trust its long-term strategy ahead of a leadership showdown against activist fund Elliott. Vivendi has since increasingly tightened its grip on Italy's biggest telecoms group, raising concerns in Rome over an asset Italy...
*Vivendi says it is long-term investor in Telecom Italia. PARIS, April 17- France's Vivendi is asking Telecom Italia investors to trust its long-term strategy ahead of a leadership showdown against activist fund Elliott. Vivendi has since increasingly tightened its grip on Italy's biggest telecoms group, raising concerns in Rome over an asset Italy...
LONDON, April 17- European shares edged up on Tuesday morning as sentiment regarding tensions between the U.S. and Russia eased up with attention shifting to the first-quarter earnings season and deal-making. "After a calming of geopolitical concerns and optimism about the Q1 earnings season, mixed data from China may revive queries about the strength of the...
MILAN, April 16- Sweden's Intrum Justitia has filed a binding bid for Intesa Sanpaolo's debt collection unit in a 3.6 billion euro deal that rids the Italian bank of 10.8 billion euros in bad debts. The deal, which Intesa's board will discuss on Tuesday, values the unit at 0.5 billion euros and the bad loans at 3.1 billion euros, implying an overall net capital gain...
After the move, Eni's head of development operations and technology, Roberto Casula, said it might raise its investment in Commonwealth Fusion System, a firm created by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which is developing the project. Casula and MIT declined to give the size of Eni's current stake, and the Eni executive could not say at this stage how...
After the move, Eni's head of development operations and technology, Roberto Casula, said it might raise its investment in Commonwealth Fusion System, a firm created by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which is developing the project. Casula and MIT declined to give the size of Eni's current stake, and the Eni executive could not say at this stage how...
ROME, April 14- German activist fund Shareholder Value Management said on Saturday it had built a stake of more than 1 pct in Telecom Italia and supported moves by Elliott Advisers to shake up the Italian phone company. Vivendi is trying to stave off the assault and is looking to delay a shareholder meeting set for April 24 where Elliot wants to replace six TIM...
After the move, Eni's head of development operations and technology, Roberto Casula, said it might raise its investment in Commonwealth Fusion System, a firm created by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which is developing the project. Casula and MIT declined to give the size of Eni's current stake, and the Eni executive could not say at this stage how...
After the move, Eni's head of development operations and technology, Roberto Casula, said it might raise its investment in Commonwealth Fusion System, a firm created by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which is developing the project. Casula and MIT declined to give the size of Eni's current stake, and the Eni executive could not say at this stage how...
