Saudi sovereign fund renews $15 billion loan facility, for 23 banks RIYADH, Aug 28 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's $925 billion sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), said on Wednesday it had signed a revolving credit facility for $15 billion with a group of 23 financial institutions, replacing a previous loan for the same amount agreed upon in 2021. The facility will be available for three years and is extendable for two more, a PIF statement said.

Italy - Factors to watch on August 26 The following factors could affect Italian markets on Monday. Reuters has not verified the newspaper reports, and cannot vouch for their accuracy. New items are marked with (*). For a complete list of diary events in Italy please click on IT/DIA . DEBT Treasury announces sale of BTP and CCTeu bonds, with relative amounts to be auctioned on Aug.

Turkish gold demand lifts Italian jewellery exports as leather goods suffer MILAN, Aug 12 (Reuters) - A surge in demand for gold from inflation-stricken Turkey boosted exports of jewellery from Italy's industrial district of Arezzo in Tuscany, data showed on Monday, offsetting a drop in leather goods sales from the nearby Florence area. Demand from Turkey, where inflation was running at 61.8% in July, drove jewellery exports from the Arezzo area up 133% in the first quarter of the year versus 20

LIVE MARKETS-Euro zone equities "less than stellar" - Pictet AM STOXX 600 down 0.9% Volatility above 23 Tech leads fallers Some UK earnings please Wall St futures mixed Welcome to the home for real-time coverage of markets brought to you by Reuters reporters. You can share your thoughts with us at markets.research@thomsonreuters.com EURO ZONE EQUITIES "LESS THAN STELLAR" - PICTET AM Pictet Asset Management has downgraded its rating on European equities to neutral from overweight, even though the

LIVE MARKETS-Banks: a good entry point? STOXX 600 down 0.9% Volatility above 23 Tech leads fallers Some UK earnings please Wall St futures mixed Welcome to the home for real-time coverage of markets brought to you by Reuters reporters. You can share your thoughts with us at markets.research@thomsonreuters.com BANKS: A GOOD ENTRY POINT? Just as with tech, dip buyers are also showing up for Europe's battered banking sector, even though there still could be fresh bouts of volatility before things p

UPDATE 1-Italy's economy minister rules out additional bank taxes Adds details on previous one-off bank tax move from paragraph 4 ROME, Aug 7 (Reuters) - The Italian government has no plans to impose additional taxes on bank profits, Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti said on Wednesday, in an effort to quash press speculation about new levies on banks and other companies.

Italy's economy minister rules out additional bank taxes ROME, Aug 7 (Reuters) - Italian Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti said the government had no plans to impose additional taxes on bank profits, in an effort to quash press speculation about new levies on banks and other companies. Answering a question at a press conference on Wednesday, Giorgetti said he had been wondering what the source of such speculation was.

CORRECTED-Ares Management leads private credit drive in Italy Corrects headline to private 'credit' not 'equity' Small Italy firms offer opportunities to private equity Some mid-market private equity firms opening offices in Milan Private credit funds moving in to finance buyouts Direct lending market growth faces constraints - Deloitte By Valentina Za MILAN, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Global private credit firms, including industry leader Ares Management, are increasingly focused on Italy as more small

European banks at March lows amid global sell-off Aug 5 (Reuters) - Shares in European lenders tumbled in early trading on Monday as investor fears mounted over the possibility that the United States could be heading for recession, after surprisingly weak employment data on Friday. The region-wide banking index .SX7P shed some 4.4%, hitting its lowest since March.

UPDATE 1-Italian banks are already big tax payers, Mediobanca CEO says after windfall tax reports Adds more details and background throughout MILAN, Aug 1 (Reuters) - Mediobanca MDBI.MI CEO on Thursday highlighted that Italy's banks are already big tax payers when asked about media reports on a possible new domestic tax on banks and insurance groups.

Italy banks are big taxpayers, important not to alarm investors, Mediobanca CEO says MILAN, Aug 1 (Reuters) - A new levy on Italian bank profits would not be justified as lenders already are among the country's biggest taxpayers, Mediobanca's chief executive said, adding it was important not to hurt investor sentiment towards the industry. Some Italian newspapers reported on Thursday that the Italian government was considering introducing new taxes on banks as well as insurers, energy companies

EUROPE RESEARCH ROUNDUP- Bodycote, Croda, Spectris July 31 (Reuters) - Securities analysts revised their ratings and price targets on several European companies, including Bodycote, Croda and Spectris, on Wednesday. HIGHLIGHTS * Bodycote Plc BOY.L : HSBC cuts target price to 940p from 950p * Bucher Industries AG BUCN.S : Berenberg cuts target price to CHF 464 from CHF 470 * Croda CRDA.L : HSBC cuts target price to 4400p from 4800p * Spectris Plc SXS.L : JP Morgan raises target price to 2,950p fr

Italy - Factors to watch on July 31 The following factors could affect Italian markets on Wednesday. Reuters has not verified the newspaper reports, and cannot vouch for their accuracy. New items are marked with (*). For a complete list of diary events in Italy please click on IT/DIA . ECONOMY ISTAT releases May industry sales data (0800 GMT); July CPI flash data (0900 GMT) June producer prices data (1000 GMT).

Intesa CEO says domestic market share makes it impossible to buy rivals MILAN, July 30 (Reuters) - The domestic market share of Intesa Sanpaolo ISP.MI is such that buying a rival in the country is "mission impossible", CEO Carlo Messina said on Tuesday, also ruling out major acquisitions abroad due to the lack of suitable targets. Messina said Intesa would have been in an ideal position to buy another Italian bank but had its hands tied due to competition reasons.

UPDATE 2-Intesa lifts profit goal, signals extra rewards after strong quarter Shares extend gains, up 3% on better than forecast results Sees room to approve share buybacks at year-end Hedging strategy helps it to offset peaking market rates Adds CEO quote in paragraph 2, details on capital in paragraph 3, analyst comment in 15; Russia details in 17 By Valentina Za MILAN, July 30 (Reuters) - Italy's biggest bank Intesa Sanpaolo ISP.MI on Tuesday raised its profit outlook, after posting stronger

Intesa lifts profit goal after stronger than expected quarter MILAN, July 30 (Reuters) - Italy's biggest bank Intesa Sanpaolo ISP.MI on Tuesday raised its profit forecast for this year and the next, after posting better than expected second quarter earnings. With net lending income still rising despite euro zone interest rates having peaked and a strategy to grow net fees bearing fruit, Intesa posted a net profit of 2.47 billion euros for the three months through June, above a Reuters consensus

BRIEF-Intesa Sanpaolo Q2 Net Profit EUR 2.47 Billion July 30 (Reuters) - Intesa Sanpaolo SpA ISP.MI : Q2 NET PROFIT EUR 2.47 BILLION VERSUS EUR 2.28 BILLION IN REUTERS-COMPILED CONSENSUS Q2 NET INTEREST INCOME EUR 4.01 BILLION Q2 FEES EUR 2.38 BILLION Q2 REVENUE EUR 6.86 BILLION VERSUS EUR 6.54 BILLION IN REUTERS-COMPILED CONSENSUS SEES ADDITIONAL

UPDATE 2-Europe's STOXX 600 gains as earnings flourish; focus on Fed decision For a Reuters live blog on U.S., UK and European stock markets, click LIVE/ or type LIVE/ in a news window EZ economy grew 0.3% in Q2 qtr on qtr -preliminary estimate Italy's Intesa Sanpaolo up after raising profit outlook UK's St James Place soars on cost-cutting plans STOXX 600 up 0.5% Updated at 1600 GMT By Shashwat Chauhan and Pranav Kashyap July 30 (Reuters) - European shares c losed higher on Tuesday, boosted by

Italy - Factors to watch on July 30 The following factors could affect Italian markets on Tuesday. Reuters has not verified the newspaper reports, and cannot vouch for their accuracy. New items are marked with (*). For a complete list of diary events in Italy please click on IT/DIA . POLITICS Chinese President Xi Jinping and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni discussed the war in Ukraine and the crisis in the Middle East at a meeting in Beijing on Monday, Meloni's office said.

Italy's banks have low exposure to Portugal house market, central bank says MILAN, July 26 (Reuters) - The Bank of Italy on Friday said the country's lenders had a limited exposure to Portugal's residential property market and there was no need to ask them to hold additional capital against such exposure. In October Portugal's central bank introduced an additional capital charge for banks that extended residential property loans to individuals in the country if they used internal risk models to