Italy

Financial News

Telecom Italia First-Quarter Net Income Falls 35% on Brazil, Price Cuts Telecom Italia SpA, Italy's biggest phone company, said first-quarter profit dropped 35 percent as the domestic business was hurt by price cuts enforced by regulators and demand slowed in Brazil.

Atlantia First-Quarter Profit Rises 22% on Toll-Highway Traffic Growth Atlantia SpA, Italy's biggest toll-road operator, said first-quarter profit jumped 22 percent as more vehicles used its highways.

Pirelli & C's First-Quarter Profit Jumps 40% on Lower Financial Costs Pirelli & C. SpA, Europe's third- largest tiremaker, said profit rose 40 percent as the company reduced financial costs by cutting debt.

Telecom Italia Has Three Binding Bids for Alice France Unit, Bernabe Says Telecom Italia SpA, Italy's biggest phone company, has received three offers for its Alice France Internet-access unit, whose sale is in the ``final stages.''

Saras Raises Refining Margin Outlook as Demand for Diesel Fuel Increases Saras SpA, owner of the Mediterranean region's biggest refinery, will have higher margins from turning crude oil into diesel than previously forecast as demand for that fuel rises, Chief Financial Officer Corrado Costanzo said.

Italian Stocks Final: Saras, Telecom Italia, Tiscali, UniCredit Shares Italy's S&P/MIB Index fell for a second day, declining 360, or 1.1 percent, to 33,722 in Milan. Futures expiring in June fell 351, or 1.1 percent, to 32,845.

Isagro Shares Fall Most in 7 Weeks After Debt Weighs on Quarterly Profit Isagro SpA, Italy's biggest maker of agricultural chemicals, fell the most in seven weeks in Milan trading after first-quarter sales growth slowed.

Libya May Expropriate Eni Assets, Drop Joint Oil Contract, Staffetta Says Eni SpA might have its assets in Libya expropriated by the government there because of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's decision to appoint a minister who has been critical of Islam, the online edition of energy newspaper Staffetta Quotidiana reported, citing unidentified Libyan diplomats.

General News

Myanmar Urged to Allow Aid Access for Cyclone Relief; More Rain Forecast Myanmar's government seized United Nations food shipments today and said it would distribute them to the 1 million people left homeless by last weekend's cyclone.

Obama Vows Support for Israel, Blasts McCain's `Offensive' Hamas Comments Barack Obama said as president he would work to ensure Israel's security and protect its relationship with the U.S.

Al-Qaeda in Iraq Leader Al-Masri Wasn't Held in Raid, U.S. Military Says The U.S. military said a man detained in northern Iraq wasn't al-Qaeda's purported leader in the country, Abu Ayyub al-Masri.

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