Orange SA

The European Central Bank should look at how to offset the risks from negative interest rates if they have to be used longer than expected, ECB policymaker Francois Villeroy de Galhau said in an interview published on Wednesday.

French telecoms group Orange <ORAN.PA> is considering a bid for Spanish competitor Euskaltel <EKTL.MC>, a move which would consolidate its market position as number two in Spain, according to a source with knowledge of the situation.

French telecoms company Orange has hired Credit Suisse as an adviser to look into a potential bid for Spanish competitor Euskaltel, online newspaper TMT Finance reported on Thursday.

French telecoms operator Orange is partnering with Amazon to combine their respective voice assistant technology, Chief Executive Officer Stephane Richard said on Wednesday.

French telecoms operator Orange said on Friday it aimed to generate 500 million euros ($568 million) in net banking income in Europe from its online bank by 2023, as it rolls out the new service in more countries.

The French telecoms industry may have an opportunity in the first half of 2019 to cut the number of operators to three from four, once a process to reallocate radio frequency bands is completed at the end of the year, an Orange <ORAN.PA> executive said on Thursday.

Orange, France's biggest telecoms operator, strengthened profits in the third quarter despite heavy competition in its home country and Spain that dented sales growth.

Orange and Google have forged a partnership to work on the Dunant transatlantic submarine cable project connecting France and the United States, the French telecoms operator said on Friday.

A French woman and her daughter are bringing a law suit against Orange Bank to try to recover some of the 439 million euros ($516 million) they say they lost in the collapse of Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme a decade ago.

* Orange could make selective deals in Africa, Middle-East (Adds background, details, other comments)

Market conditions are likely to lead to a new round of merger talks between France's four telecom operators from 2019, Orange's chief executive officer Stephane Richard said on Thursday.

Orange, France's biggest telecoms group, said its second-quarter core operating profits had risen by 3 percent from a year ago, driven by higher sales in France, Spain and by improved cost management.

French telecoms firms Orange <ORAN.PA> is open to discussing potential tie-ups with other operators in its home market but is not likely to be the instigator of consolidation in the sector, financial chief Ramon Fernandez said.

French telecoms group Orange has suspended the installation of new ditigal network cables in Ivory Coast because of vandalism, a top official said on Friday.

Orange <ORAN.PA>, France's biggest telecoms operator, is looking to merge its Orange Cinema Series (OCS) arm with Altice Studio <ATCA.AS> to create a new business big enough to challenge the likes of Netflix <NFLX.O>, Le Figaro newspaper reported.

A fire and other damage last month at a facility of French telecoms group Orange in Ivory Coast appears to have been an act of professional "sabotage", a top company official said late on Tuesday.

* Names Paul de Leusse as joint CEO for mobile financial services arm

* ORANGE'S SHAREHOLDERS APPROVE RENEWAL OF CEO STEPHANE RICHARD'S MANDATE AS BOARD MEMBER WITH 88.62 PERCENT OF VOTES Further company coverage: (Reporting by Mathieu Rosemain)

* Vivendi and Orange sign a partnership deal with the CanalOlympia cinema network for African market