The Bank of Italy’s Daniele Franco is emerging as a possible candidate to take over as the country’s next finance minister, as the race intensifies over who will be premier-designate Mario Draghi’s pick to start reviving the staggering economy, Bloomberg News reported. Franco, director-general at the central bank, is one name that keeps popping up in reference to the Treasury job as Draghi draws up the list of names for his cabinet, which may be revealed later this week, according to officials who asked not to be named discussing confidential talks.
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Mario Draghi, the former head of the European Central Bank, became a hero to financial markets and the European Union after he defused the continent’s debt crisis by promising to do “whatever it takes” to save the euro, the Wall Street Journal reported. That could turn out to be the easy part. Mr. Draghi must now show he has what it takes to become Italy’s next prime minister, convince the country’s fractious parties to back him, and reverse a long economic decline in the depths of the worst pandemic in a century. The euro’s future could once again hinge on how Mr. Draghi fares.
Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced on Monday that he would resign, plunging the country into fresh political turmoil, Politico reported. By stepping down, Conte will avoid a humiliating defeat in parliament in a vote on judicial reforms later this week. He narrowly won the backing of parliament in a ballot last week after former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, leader of the small Italia Viva party, withdrew his ministers from the ruling coalition, forcing a confidence vote.
Italy’s Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte survived a confidence vote in the country’s Senate but fell short of an outright majority, weakening his government as it searches for a way to tame the Covid-19 pandemic and revive the economy, the Wall Street Journal reported. The vote in the Senate was triggered by the decision of a small centrist party led by a former prime minister, Matteo Renzi, to withdraw from the governing coalition. Mr. Renzi said he objected to Mr.
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Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV and Peugeot-maker PSA Group cemented their trans-Atlantic merger Saturday, creating Stellantis NV, a global auto-making giant that executives say will have the heft needed to compete in a fast-changing industry, the Wall Street Journal reported. The deal, first agreed to in late 2019 and approved earlier this month by shareholders, comes as the global car business is rapidly shifting to new technologies, such as electric vehicles, and battling upstarts trying to upend everything from the way cars are engineered and built to how they are sold.
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A former leader of Italy yanked his party’s ministers on Wednesday from Premier Giuseppe Conte’s government, triggering a political crisis in the middle of a pandemic that could lead to a revamped Cabinet, a different coalition leader or the early election eagerly sought by right-wing opposition parties, the Associated Press reported. Matteo Renzi, who served as premier from Feb. 2014 to Dec.
Monte dei Paschi di Siena said that it would grant access to confidential data to potential merger partners selected by its advisers, as Italy presses ahead with plans to cut its stake in the state-owned bank, Reuters reported. Confirming comments to Reuters from sources earlier on Monday, Monte dei Paschi (MPS) said its board had hired Credit Suisse to help Mediobanca in the task of studying strategic options and sounding out market interest for the Tuscan bank.
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The government of Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte is struggling to avoid collapse after a small coalition member threatened to withdraw vital parliamentary support, the Wall Street Journal reported. The Italia Viva party, led by former Italian Premier Matteo Renzi, has long been skeptical of Mr. Conte’s leadership and is raising pressure on a range of issues, including how to reconstruct Italy’s battered economy after the pandemic. If Mr. Renzi pulls out of the coalition, forcing Mr.
Digital services taxes adopted by India, Italy and Turkey discriminate against U.S. companies and are inconsistent with international tax principles, the U.S. Trade Representative’s office said on Wednesday, paving the way for potential retaliatory tariffs, Reuters reported.
Fiat Chrysler (FCA) and PSA said on Monday that investors had given their blessing to a $52 billion merger to create the world’s fourth largest automaker, and shares in the new company, named Stellantis, would start trading in two weeks, Reuters reported. With annual production of around 8 million vehicles worldwide and revenues of more than 165 billion euros ($203 billion), the newly-formed firm is expected to play a key role in the auto industry’s jump into the new era of electrification.