Italy

Eni, the Italian energy company, reported Thursday a net profit drop of 11% for the first three months adjusted. This was less than expected. The adjusted net profit was 1.41 billion euro ($1.60 billion), down from 1.58 million euros in the first three months of 2024. However, it was above the analyst consensus of 1,15 billion euro compiled by the firm. As a result of lower oil prices, state-controlled group announced it would reduce its planned net capital expenditures this year below 6 billion euro as part several mitigation measures worth 2 billion euros. Eni has confirmed its distribution strategy,...

These are the most popular stories from the Financial Times. These stories have not been verified and we cannot vouch their accuracy. Headlines UK announces final approval for flagship carbon-capture project Davos founder accused by World Economic Forum of manipulating research Bailey: BoE must "take seriously" the risk of Trump tariffs to growth London Metal Exchange to introduce premium for green metals View the full article The UK government and Italian energy giant Eni will announce the final approval for a 38 mile pipeline that will collect carbon dioxide from industrial facilities around Liverpool and Manchester, and bury it off-shore....

Eni, the Italian energy company, rejected on Friday a claim made by prosecutors investigating an explosion that killed five people at an Eni fuel station near Florence. The prosecutors claimed Eni had tried to save money, allowing fuel to be loaded during maintenance. In a statement released on Wednesday, the prosecutors of the Tuscan city Prato stated that the explosion occurred in December because Eni allowed maintenance work to be done at the same time fuel was being loaded in order for the site to run more efficiently and save money. Eni estimated it would have lost about 255,000 euros...

The Italian government adopted a new law on Friday that will allow the return of nuclear energy, almost 40 years after its ban by referendum. Prime Minister Giorgia Mello described it as a move towards energy security and independence. The law, approved by the parliament, gives the mandate to the government to issue detailed transition decrees. Last month, Energy Minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin stated that he expects the process to be complete by end-2027. Meloni, in a video after a cabinet session, said that the government had approved "another important measure" to guarantee clean, safe and low-cost energy, which can...

Italian energy contractor Saipem has announced that it will resume dividend payments after a 4-year hiatus. The group announced that it would pay out 333 million Euros ($350 million) as dividends in this year. The group expects to pay another $300 million by 2026. The company also pledged to reduce its gross debt by 650 million euro by paying all maturities due between 2025 and 27 to raise its credit rating. The merger of Saipem and Subsea 7, announced at the weekend, creates a global leader in offshore energy services. Saipem has published its results for the past year and...

UAE telecoms group e& announced on Wednesday it had agreed with artificial intelligence company G42 to sell its 40% share in Khazna Data Center Holdings, for $2.2 billion. In a statement, the telecoms company said that this deal would generate a capital profit of $1.4 billion prior to federal royalty and corporate taxes and that the proceeds would be used to pay down its debt. Khazna designs, builds, and operates wholesale datacenters. Separately, MGX and Silver Lake will become minority shareholders in addition to G42, the majority shareholder. The deal is expected to be finalized by the end the first...

Three sources familiar with the investigation told reporters on Monday that mines set off by timers and attached to ship hulls are likely to have caused the explosions which damaged two crude oil tanks in the Mediterranean Sea between January and February. At least five ships have been damaged. This includes explosions aboard the Greek-managed Seacharm and Seajewel, which were reported last week. These incidents have sparked concerns about a new threat to security in the normally safe waters of Mediterranean. This is at a time when the shipping industry has been dealing with attacks on the busy Red Sea...

At a Rome bilateral summit, the United Arab Emirates announced that it plans to invest 40 billion dollars in Italy. The two countries did not give a timeframe. Since taking office as Italian Prime Minister in 2022 Giorgia Mello has sought to strengthen ties with Gulf nations, ignoring the concerns raised by political rivals over human rights. Italy under her leadership lifted the arms embargoes imposed on the UAE and Saudi Arabia by previous governments in connection with the Yemen war. Meloni received Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahya, President of the UAE, on Monday during his state visit to...

The two companies announced late Sunday that Italy's Saipem had agreed to merge its onshore and offshore energy service provider Subsea 7 with Subsea 7, in a 100% share deal. Subsea Seven shares rose up to 9% at the opening of trading and gained 5% by 830 GMT on the Oslo stock exchange. Saipem shares opened higher than 5% before reducing gains to 1.4%. They said that the combined group will be called Saipem7 and have an order backlog totaling 43 billion euros ($45billion), revenues of around 20 billion euro, and core earnings exceeding 2 billion euros. Citi analysts wrote...

Commonwealth Fusion Systems, a private company spun off from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, prepares what it calls the world's first gridscale combination power plant in Virginia, to generate power by the early 2030s, the company stated on Tuesday. The project, if successful, might revolutionize the worldwide energy market by tapping into an essentially endless power source, similar to that which fuels the stars. But it is a long-shot. CFS does not have regional and federal licenses, investors to money the majority of the plant's construction, and the answer to blend's leading technological question: how to get more energy out...

Italian prosecutors on Wednesday opened a probe into possible murder following an explosion at a fuel depot center near Florence owned by Italian energy company Eni that killed five individuals, two judicial sources said. The sources added that district attorneys were likewise looking to see if preventative measures versus office accidents were purposefully withdrawn ahead of Monday's catastrophe. The entire website in the nearby town of Prato was taken by district attorneys, who are focusing their investigation into upkeep deal with the depot that was going on at the time of the mishap, the sources stated. Eni said on Tuesday...

Pope Francis on Wednesday called on the Syrian rebels who toppled the routine of President Bashar alAssad to stabilise the nation, and govern in a manner that promotes national unity. I hope they find political options that, without other conflicts or divisions, responsibly promote the stability and unity of the nation, the pontiff said throughout his weekly audience at the Vatican. The pope, in his very first public remarks about Syria since the ending of al-Assad's guideline, likewise called on the country's diverse religious groups to stroll together in relationship and shared regard for the good of the country. Francis,...

The erratic tariff policy of U.S. president Donald Trump is making some European smaller companies question whether they should expand into the U.S. Trump wants to encourage foreign companies to invest in the United States by imposing levies on steel, cognac, cars, and sandals. This will lead to new factories being built and thousands of American jobs. The announcements of rollbacks, exemptions, and other changes have made some smaller companies hesitant to commit. EuroGroup Laminations, an Italian company, pays no import duties on the rotors, stators, and other components it provides to U.S. automakers, such as Ford and GM. These...

Her office announced on Tuesday that Giorgia Mello will meet Donald Trump, the U.S. president in Washington, on April 17, to discuss tariffs imposed by Trump on imports from the European Union. Trump has a policy of imposing tariffs that are 25% on imports of steel, aluminium and automobiles. The tariffs will be a broader 20% for all other goods starting Wednesday. Meloni said she backed an offer by the European Commission for a "zero to zero" tariff agreement to avoid a trade conflict with the United States. Meloni stated in a staff-released speech that "This is a negotiation which...

The FIM Cisl union reported on Tuesday that Stellantis' Italian car production fell further in the first three months after falling to a 70-year low by 2024. New models won't support activity until next year. In a report issued by the union, vehicle production, which includes passenger cars and vans, was down 35.5% from a year ago to approximately 110,000 units. The automaker added that activity contracted at all six of its assembly plants in Italy. Production of the Dodge Hornet fell by 80% in Pomigliano to 1,356 units. The Hornet is one of only a few Stellantis models that...

Elon Musk’s electric car brand's first quarter sales in France have been the lowest since 2021, according to data released on Tuesday. Tesla's sales have been in decline ahead of its much-anticipated Model Y midsize SUV launch. The billionaire CEO is a close ally to U.S. president Donald Trump and has courted far-right parties across Europe. Data from the French auto body PFA revealed that Tesla sold 3,157 cars in France in March, a drop of 36.83% from last year. This equates to 6,693 registrations for the first quarter. The PFA's share of the country's market dropped to 1.63% for...

The announcement by Donald Trump of a 25% auto import tariff sent shockwaves around the globe on Thursday. Global carmakers warned that prices would rise immediately, and dealers expressed concern about job losses in large auto-exporting nations, including many U.S. allies. The new tariffs are expected to lead to a second round of large-scale U.S. duties that will be imposed next week. The auto tariffs could increase the cost of an average vehicle by thousands of dollars in the U.S., and dampen demand further at a moment when the industry is already struggling with the transition to electric vehicles. The...

Stellantis' chairman said that the European automotive industry doesn't need to switch to defence production. He also confirmed the group will appoint its new CEO by the end of the first quarter of the year. Adolfo Urso, Italy's Minister of Industry, said that Rome is preparing an Industrial Plan to foster connections between the automotive, aerospace and defence sectors. The plan will be revealed in June. Stellantis chairman John Elkann told the Italian parliament that the U.S.A. and China had both strong automotive and defence industries. Therefore, there was no need to choose between them. Elkann's multinational group, which includes...

According to preliminary government data, seen on Tuesday, India's finished-steel imports from China and South Korea, as well as Japan, reached a record in the first ten months of this financial year. India, which is the second largest crude steel producer in the world, reported that it was a net steel importer and shipped record amounts of finished steel between April and January. The data revealed that South Korea imported 2.4 million tons of finished steel, an increase of 11.7% over the previous year. South Korea was India's largest exporter of this alloy during that period. The total amount of...

After reports that the next likely government in Germany was considering a major fiscal overhaul for Europe's largest economy, Europe's defense stocks surged on Monday. Shares of defence contractors such as Thyssenkrupp Hensoldt Renk Rheinmetall BAE Systems, Leonardo, and Hensoldt rose by double-digits percentages after news broke that the conservatives, who won the elections, and the Social Democrats, centre-left, were considering debt-financed infrastructure and defence funds worth under one trillion euros. No party has confirmed officially that a special defence fund worth 400 billion euro ($417 billion), and infrastructure funds worth up to 500 billion euro, which would total 20%...

Data from the industry showed that new car sales in Europe fell by 2.1% in January, as an increase in registrations of fully electric and hybrid electric cars in its major markets did not compensate for falling sales of petrol and diesel, according to Tuesday's data. The European Automobile Manufacturers Association's (ACEA) data showed that overall sales in France and Italy were down compared to last year. Only Spain recorded an increase year-on year among the top-selling nations. Why it's important After discussions with automakers and other interest groups, the EU executive will announce its plans for the auto sector...

The European share market reached a new high on Tuesday, as defence stocks rose on the prospect of higher military spending in the area. However, a Capgemini led drop in IT shares capped the gains. The STOXX 600 pan-European index rose by 0.2%, to a new record of 555.42. The aerospace and defense index jumped 1%. After European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced that the Commission would propose an exemption for defense spending from EU budget limits, the sector grew by 4.6% Monday. This is its largest one-day increase since Russia invaded Ukraine, in February 2022. Defense stocks...

The euro zone's industrial production declined more than expected in the month of December, showing that the two-year slump is still far from over, even though some figures on sentiment and orders have indicated a bottoming out. Eurostat data showed that the output of the 20 countries sharing the euro fell by 1.1% from December to the previous month. This was below expectations of a 0.6% decline, as Germany, the industrial powerhouse, shrank by 2,9%, and Italy by 3,1%. The industry has been a drag for Europe since years, as high energy prices, weak Chinese demand, increased global competition and...

A surge in M&A has led to the emergence of Francesco Gaetano Caltagirone as a key player in a reshaping in Italy's financial industry. BATTLES GENERALI & MEDIOBANCA Caltagirone expanded his financial investments in Italy last year, becoming a major shareholder in the bailed out bank Monte dei Paschi di Siena and fund manager Anima Holding. Since 2021, he has become the second largest shareholder of the Milanese bank. The bank in Milan is now the second largest investor. Mediobanca, the largest shareholder in Generali, has had disagreements with Caltagirone over the leadership of the insurer in the past. Caltagirone,...