Search Results for: Italian

The European Parliament’s (EP) reputation as a mostly harmless and clean international democratic assembly has taken a serious knock through the ‘Qatargate’ scandal. Keith Nuthall reports.

Belgium’s federal police, working with Belgian prosecutor Michel Claise, have uncovered what they claim is a serious network of graft, where the natural gas-rich Gulf state of Qatar is alleged to have subverted elected European Union (EU) officials.…

Once a stronghold of banking secrecy and a haven for undeclared cash-carrying Italians making deposits in a local micro-state, the Republic of San Marino, the world’s oldest republic (founded in the year 301CE), has been working to repair its AML/CFT reputation.…

As Pope Francis continues his moves to reform the financial controls of the Vatican City State and The Holy See (VCS/HS), including its AML/CFT systems, the uneven progress within this tiny state with a global reach to fighting corruption and money laundering is illustrated by an ongoing major financial crime trial.…

DESPITE sky-high energy prices, currently six times higher than the USA, China and other Asian production hubs, causing loss of competitiveness and closures, European clothing companies will survive, European Union (EU) experts have told Just Style. EU electricity prices are often around EUR0.56/KWh at present, compared to USD0.10/KWh in competing industrial centres, according to EU data.…

The International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) has updated its Principles for the Regulation and Supervision of Commodity Derivatives Markets, the first major overhaul of this core guidance since 2011. IOSCO said the changes were designed “to provide a resilient framework for the regulation and oversight of the commodity derivatives markets”, taking account of recent market developments and international events, such as the Covid-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.…

 Alternative non-meat product sales may be growing in the USA, but more product innovation, including in ingredients, may be needed say experts, to persuade American consumers to continue embracing this segment rather than sticking to natural meat.

After robust sales growth was noted during the Covid-19 pandemic as US consumers experimented with new food products at home, concerns that this market expansion may be slowing appeared last year.…

The European Parliament is grappling with the fallout of the Qatargate’ cash-for-influence corruption scandal. Greek socialist MEP Eva Kaili has been replaced as the parliament’s vice-president by a Luxembourg socialist, after Kaili was arrested by Brussels police. Officers allege they found EUR1.5 million cash at her home and that of former MEP Pier Antonio Panzeri, another socialist, from Italy.…

The US government is coming under increasing pressure to reinstate Ethiopia as a participant of its African Growth & Opportunity Act (AGOA), now a peace agreement has been signed to end a bloody civil conflict in the country. The Ethiopian government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) have agreed to halt two years’ hostilities that the UN concluded had “intractable and deadly consequences” for civilians.…

Consumers of athleisure and performance gear will drive demand for sustainability in this segment, before requirement in materials and industrial processes are mandated by regulations, textile industry observers have indicated. As a result, existing brands have been warned by market experts to focus on product development, facing competition from newcomers keen to capitalise on increases sales for this segment witnessed during the Covid-19 pandemic. …

Times might be tough in Italy, with annual inflation at 9.4% (in September) and sluggish growth of 2.5% projected for 2022 (OECD data), but Italians are drinking more coffee, including supermarket sales for home-brewed drinks.

In 2021, Italian roasted mass market retail coffee sales exceeded EUR1.3 billion overall, said IRI, up 1.1% year-on-year, driven by the single-serving pods and capsules and grains segments.…