Italy
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…
Speech by A Fazio, Governor Bank of Italy, 21 July
SPEECH - In the speech titled 'Globalization, law, the person' Fazio said with the increase in wealth, distributive inequalities have been aggravated. Some countries have not shared in the benefits of expanding trade. International crises ultimately…
Speech by A Fazio, Governor Bank of Italy, 15 July
SPEECH - In the speech titled 'Fact-finding preliminary to the examination of the Economic and Financial Planning Document for the years 2003-2006' Fazio said in the 1990s Italy's economy grew more slowly than those of the other European countries…
Speech by A Fazio, Governor Bank of Italy, 26 June
SPEECH - In the speech titled 'Public debt, saving and social security' Fazio said credit, money and securities markets able to supply a broad range of services and finance are indispensable for firms' growth; they allow households to diversify their…
Speech by A Fazio, Governor Bank of Italy, 15 June
SPEECH - In the speech titled 'The North-East and Italy's firms - Development and the values of civil society' Fazio said with economic success, the typical problems of a mature economy have now surfaced. Difficulties derive from the limits of the local…
Bank Italia to out source some activities
ITALY - Italian central bank Bank Italia has decided to authorise the outsourcing of over-the-counter banking activities. Banks may use their own branches or call in outside firms specialising in call centre management.
Next ECB head may not be French says Italy's Tanzi
ITALY - Wim Duisenberg's successor as president of the European Central Bank may not necessarily be French. That is the belief of Italy's Treasury undersecretary Vito Tanzi who spoke to Italian daily La Repubblica on Saturday.
Bank of Italy - Annual Report 2001
ANNUAL REPORT - The Bank of Italy has published its Annual Report for the year ended 2001.
ECB Padoa-Schioppa - 'excessive' talk on inflation
ITALY - European Central Bank board member Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa said the central bank has to monitor with attention the current level of euro-zone consumer prices which remain above 2.0 pct year-on-year, but believes it is "excessive" to describe the…
Padoa-Schioppa- ECB "satisfied" by German promises
ITALY - European Central Bank executive board member Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa, in an interview published Friday, said the ECB was "satisfied" with the German government's promises to cut its budget deficit aggressively in an effort to bring it in line with…
Padoa-Schioppa, ECB "satisfied" by German promises
ITALY - European Central Bank executive board member Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa, in an interview published Friday, said the ECB was "satisfied" with the German government's promises to cut its budget deficit aggressively in an effort to bring it in line with…
Speech by Antonio Fazio Governor Bank of Italy
SPEECH - In the speech titled 'Recovery and growth of the Italian economy' Fazio said that the Bank of Italy expects economic growth in the European Union to slow to 1.5 percent in 2002 from 1.7 percent last year. But that EU growth was likely to recover…
Bank of Italy withdrew 50% of liras at end Jan
ITALY - The Bank of Italy has withdrawn just over half of the old liras in circulation with less than a month to go before the currency is to be entirely replaced by euros, Bank Of Italy Governor Antonio Fazio said Saturday.