Italy
Banking foundation considers Bank of Italy stake
Italy's leading banking foundation could consider taking a stake in the Bank of Italy, according to Giuseppe Guzzetti, chairman of the Cariplo foundation.
Fazio could faces job loss in shake-up
The Italian Government is apparently seeking to vary the appointment terms of the Governor of the Bank of Italy, currently Antonio Fazio, in a move that would force him to step down.
Bank of Italy's Fazio rejects Parmalat blame
The governor of the Bank of Italy on Tuesday 27 January tackled his critics who say he failed to protect investors from the Parmalat scandal,claiming that banks had shown a "serious error of judgement" in their dealings with the food company.
Fazio's address to the Euro-Mediterranean seminar
In his welcoming address to the Eurosystem and Mediterranean Central Banks Euro-Mediterranean seminar, Antonio Fazio said the talents that the central banks have brought to the European system is founded on autonomy and independence, sometimes carefully…
Bank of Italy responds to Parmalat criticism
Italy's central bank mounted a fight back at the weekend following government accusations that it had neglected its regulatory duties and ignored warnings over the Parmalat fraud.
Bank of Italy criticised on Parmalat case
Italian economy minister Giulio Tremonti said on Thursday 15 January that the Bank of Italy had failed to respond to signals that something was wrong at Parmalat, now involved in one of Europe's biggest financial scandals.
Regulatory reform may face delay in Italy
The Italian government is unlikely to debate a regulatory reform bill this week and instead will wait for Parliament to finish an investigation, a minister said.
Italy plans new financial regulator
Italian finance minister Giulio Tremonti has said he wants a new financial regulator which will have authority over whole spectrum of financial services to reduce risks of another Parmalat-type scandal.
Italy withdraws proposal on ECB statutes
EU Presidency holder Italy is reported to have withdrawn a proposal to simplify procedures for changing the ECB's statutes in response to protests from the central bank, according to Boersen-Zeitung. Jean-Claude Trichet wrote to Italian Foreign Minister…
Euro periphery may suffer from pact weakening
The fallout from last week's decisions on the stability and growth pact could impact on the bond markets of countries with less fiscally prudent reputations than Germany and France, according to a report by Reuters. Rating agency Standard & Poor's said…
Italy wants ECB chiefs chosen by majority
Italy, the current holder of the EU presidency, has made a proposal to change the way top officials at the European Central Bank are appointed, Reuters said. A draft compromise circulated to EU member states said the ECB's six top officials should be…
France and Italy lead charge for EU pact change
French Finance Minister Francis Mer said Wednesday the EU should consider revising the stability and growth pact in 2005, Reuters said. While Italian Treasury undersecretary Gianluigi Magri commented "Pact 1 is finished with. We need to change the…
Kick off in Italy
Italy is famous for its football but the Financial Times reported kicks of a different kind last week. Governor of the Bank of Italy Antonio Fazio was said to have instructed one of his bodyguards to "kick him a bit so he goes away" referring to a…
Berlusconi calls for easing of the Stability Pact
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has, according to the EU Observer, said of the EU's Stability and Growth pact that "The 3 percent should not be taken as an absolute value beyond discussion and might be adjusted down by one or two percentage…
Italian economy dips into recession
The Italian statistics agency Istat said gross domestic product in the euro zone's third-largest economy shrank for the second quarter in a row, putting Italy into a recession, according to Reuters.
Bank of Italy - Annual Report 2002
The Bank of Italy has published its Annual Report for the year ended 2002. In the first half of 2002 world economic activity accelerated, sustained in the leading industrial countries by the expansive stance of monetary and budgetary policy, the Annual…
Italy unveils a proposed 1 euro note
Italian Finance Minister Giulio Tremonti has come out in favour of the introduction of €1 notes, RTE News reports. Belgium and Austria have signalled they too favour small denomination notes with at least five eurozone states thought to be backing the…
ECB's Duisenberg receives award in Italy
Decoration for Dr. Willem F. Duisenberg, President of the European Central Bank,2 April 2003. Duisenberg was presented with the "Knight of the Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Italy".
Duisenberg speech before the President of Italy
In a speech Wim Duisenberg of the European Central Bank spoke of Rome as a symbolic City for the ECB to hold a Governing Council meeting. The ECB has decided to meet twice a year outside its Frankfurt base, partly to emphasise the federal character of…
ECB's Fazio thinks Iraq crisis will hurt recovery
European Central Bank council member Antonio Fazio said a war with Iraq, as well as increasing the chance of terrorist attacks, may hamper an economic recovery.
Italy poised to put strict curb on public spending
After much recent talk on the stability and growth pact Italy looks set to restrict spending in an effort to avoid sanctions which other euro zone countries have recently incurred for not restricting their budget deficits to within 3 percent of GDP. The…
IMF wants euro 'big 3' to tighten fiscal policy
US - The International Monetary Fund has weighed into the debate over the eurozone's stability and growth pact (SGP), arguing that the big three countries - Germany, France and Italy - should heed its message and make a concerted effort to tighten fiscal…
Italy's c bank governor makes rare budget comment
ITALY - Italy's new budget drew a less than enthusiastic response last Friday from Antonio Fazio, Italy's central bank governor, who said it relied heavily on one-off measures as a means to raise revenues and reduce the national budget deficit.
New deadline for balanced budgets splits euro club
FRANCE - A proposal by Brussels to allow euro-zone states more time to balance their budgets has blown up into a big row between EU countries that have been making sacrifices and four members -- France, Germany, Italy and Portugal -- that were falling…