(RTTNews) - Poste Italiane has launched a full takeover bid for Telecom Italia, following approval by its board of directors. The offer is valued at approximately 10.8 billion euros or $12.5 billion and is expected to be completed by the end of 2026, according to several media reports. Under the terms of the bid, Telecom Italia shareholders will reportedly receive 0.167 euros in cash and 0.0218 ne...
(RTTNews) - Poste Italiane has launched a full takeover bid for Telecom Italia, following approval by its board of directors. The offer is valued at approximately 10.8 billion euros or $12.5 billion and is expected to be completed by the end of 2026, according to several media reports. Under the terms of the bid, Telecom Italia shareholders will reportedly receive 0.167 euros in cash and 0.0218 newly issued Poste Italiane shares for each share tendered. This values Telecom Italia shares at 0.635 euros each, representing a 9.01% premium to the company's closing price on March 20. Telecom Italia S.p.A. on the OTC Markets closed at $0.6500 on March 20, 2026, down $0.0300 or 4.41%. The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
wing-wing/iStock via Getty Images Key takeaways 1 Strong economic data buoyed high-yield Credit securities, US and non-US equities performed well in the fourth quarter of 2025. Third quarter GDP and corporate profits beat expectations, leading the high-yield segment – as represented by the Bloomberg US Corporate High Yield 2% Issuer Capped Index – to return 1.31% in the fourth quarter. 2 Sticky in...
wing-wing/iStock via Getty Images Key takeaways 1 Strong economic data buoyed high-yield Credit securities, US and non-US equities performed well in the fourth quarter of 2025. Third quarter GDP and corporate profits beat expectations, leading the high-yield segment – as represented by the Bloomberg US Corporate High Yield 2% Issuer Capped Index – to return 1.31% in the fourth quarter. 2 Sticky inflation and better-than-expected economic data sent longer term yields higher The yield curve reversed from an inversion (short-term bonds yielded more than long-term bonds) to a positive slope. Low short-term interest rates and a steeper yield curve have historically favored risk assets like high-yield bonds. 3 Surge in quality upgrades Credit metrics have been solid, backed by healthy balance sheets, high coverage ratios and lower leverage. During the fourth quarter, $46 billion of bonds had their quality ratings upgraded, the highest total since August 2024. Manager perspective and outlook The US Federal Reserve (Fed) has cut the federal funds rate by a total of 1.75% since September 2024. Further Fed rate cuts will likely depend on labor market conditions. Recently, we have seen some labor market softness, indicated by the slowing of hiring and firing. The Fed cut rates by 0.25% in both October and December, though market expectations for a December cut appeared to fluctuate through November. The Fed also raised its US growth forecast for 2026, attributing the increase to productivity gains. Late in the quarter, a lower-than-expected US CPI reading and stabilizing labor data supported the case for easing inflation pressures without a sharp economic slowdown. Demand for credit has been strong. We expect relatively high yields will attract inflows in 2026, though valuations for the Magnificent Seven stocks (Alphabet ( GOOGL ), Amazon ( AMZN ), Apple ( AAPL ), Meta Platforms ( META ), Microsoft ( MSFT ) and Tesla (TSLA)) might inadvertently cause outflows on occasion. Issu...
How Much Of The Gulf's Water Comes From Desalination Plants? Authored by Mohamed A. Hussein , The United States-Israeli war on Iran has exposed the vulnerability of critical water infrastructure in a region that is among the most water-scarce in the world. Last week, Iran’s foreign minister accused the US of striking a desalination plant on Qeshm Island off the coast of Iran in the Strait of Hormu...
How Much Of The Gulf's Water Comes From Desalination Plants? Authored by Mohamed A. Hussein , The United States-Israeli war on Iran has exposed the vulnerability of critical water infrastructure in a region that is among the most water-scarce in the world. Last week, Iran’s foreign minister accused the US of striking a desalination plant on Qeshm Island off the coast of Iran in the Strait of Hormuz. The strike reportedly cut off the water supply to 30 villages. Just 24 hours later, Bahrain said an Iranian drone had caused material damage to one of its desalination plants near Muharraq. The six Gulf states – Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates – are among the most water-scarce countries in the world and rely heavily on desalination to meet the needs of their combined populations, which exceed 62 million people. In this visual explainer, Al Jazeera unpacks how dependent the region is on desalination, how much water is produced each year and how various desalination processes work. The Gulf has no permanent rivers The Gulf states are deserts with no permanent rivers. While they lack rivers, they do have seasonal waterways called wadis, which carry water during rare rainfall. These nations rely primarily on groundwater and desalination to supply water to their rapidly growing cities, industrial zones and agricultural areas. The map below shows the major rivers and waterways in areas surrounding the Gulf. (Al Jazeera) 7.2 trillion litres from desalination The Gulf countries produce roughly 40 percent of the world’s desalinated water, operating more than 400 desalination plants along their coasts. The threshold the United Nations has set for absolute water scarcity is 500 cubic metres (655 cubic yards) per capita per year. With an average per-capita share of natural freshwater of only 120 cubic metres (155 cubic yards) per year, therefore, Gulf countries rely heavily on desalination to fill the gap between supply and demand. According t...