Italy

Financial News

Stocks in Europe Drop for Third Week in Longest Losing Streak Since March European stocks dropped for a third straight week, the longest stretch of losses since March, as concern mounted that the economy won’t recover soon.

Piaggio Forecasts Its 2012 Revenue at $2.6 Billion, Ebitda at $348 Million Piaggio & C. SpA, Europe’s largest motor-scooter maker, plans to increase sales and improve profitability by expanding its two-wheel business in Asia.

Stocks Decline on Milan Borsa, Led by Pirelli, Saipem and Tenaris Shares Italy’s benchmark FTSE MIB Index retreated for a second day, losing 81.2, or 0.4 percent, to 18,847.46 as of 1:02 p.m. in Milan.

Italy Says Modified Agricole-Generali Pact Still Violates Antitrust Rules Italy’s antitrust authority said that a revamped agreement between Credit Agricole SA and Assicurazioni Generali SpA over their combined 10.9 percent holding in Intesa Sanpaolo SpA still violates competition rules.

Eni, Partners to Reduce Kashagan Oil Field Development Costs by $1 Billion Eni SpA, Exxon Mobil Corp. and other oil companies developing the Kashagan project will cut costs at Kazakhstan’s biggest oil field by $1 billion, the country’s energy minister said.

Intesa Sanpaolo Sets Funding Levels for Small, Medium-Size Company Lending Intesa Sanpaolo SpA, Italy’s second- biggest bank by assets, agreed with employers’ association Confindustria to provide 90 billion euros ($126 billion) in credits to small and medium-sized companies.

Italy Plans to Allow Back Tax-Haven Money May Yield $7 Billion, Sole Says Italian Finance Minister Giulio Tremonti’s plan to allow Italians to send home untaxed earnings from abroad could bring the state up to 5 billion euros ($7 billion), Il Sole 24 Ore said, citing unnamed officials working on the measure.

Luxottica, Tod's Stock Is Upgraded at HSBC; Dior, Hermes Shares Lowered Luxottica Group SpA, the world’s biggest maker of eyeglasses, was upgraded to “overweight” from “neutral” at HSBC Holdings Plc, which said the company may “post the most significant improvement” in the second quarter among those under coverage in the luxury goods industry.

General News

Medici's Sonja Kohn Didn't Get Personal Payments From Madoff, Lawyer Says Bank Medici AG Chairman Sonja Kohn didn’t receive any personal payments from Bernard Madoff, her lawyer Andreas Theiss said.

Pope Urges G-8, Italy's Berlusconi to Assist Poor, Reform Global Finance Pope Benedict XVI asked Group of Eight heads meeting in Italy next week to increase aid for the developing world and design a new “ethical” architecture for global finance that avoids “credit speculation.”

Italy Makes G-8 Summit Earthquake Contingency Plan, Repubblica Reports Italy has prepared a contingency plan in the event that an earthquake disrupts next week’s Group of Eight summit in L’Aquila, which was devastated by a quake three months ago, La Repubblica reported, without saying where it got the information.

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