Europe Economics Update Italian banks – weathering the storm better than most Italian banks have so far coped with the financial crisis better than most of their European peers. While this has not prevented a slowdown in lending, the problems in the supply of credit seem... 2nd July 2009 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Focus Italy: is something moving under the surface? The old adage goes that if you ask ten economists their views on something you get ten different answers. But there is one topic where nearly all economists agreed some years back: the prognosis for... 7th May 2009 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Italian industrial downturn has much further to run At first sight, the latest industrial production figures from Italy suggest that the sector may be weathering the global economic downturn rather better than some of the other major euro-zone... 18th March 2009 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Italian fiscal plan not all that it’s cracked up to be The Italian Government’s announcement of an economic package to help reinvigorate the economy suggests that Prime Minister Berlusconi may have reverted to his free spending ways. But the package looks... 28th November 2008 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update External sector leading Italy into a deep recession Recent data on the Italian external sector has painted a worrying picture of the outlook for exporters. With the domestic economy in no position to pick up the slack, we think that the consensus view... 18th November 2008 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Italian recession to be worse than the early 90s downturn The latest data from the industrial sector provide the clearest signs yet that the global economic slowdown, coupled with Italy’s fundamental lack of competitiveness, is taking a heavy toll on the... 3rd November 2008 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Focus Italy: is the prognosis terminal for Europe's sick man? In recent months, the outlook for the Italian economy has deteriorated at an alarming pace. While economists are unanimous in their view that Italy will continue to lag well behind the euro-zone, we... 28th July 2008 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Berlusconi’s victory unlikely to ease Italy’s woes Silvio Berlusconi’s emphatic victory in the Italian general election ends two months of political uncertainty. But the deteriorating economic outlook and Berlusconi’s poor past stewardship of the... 15th April 2008 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Italian bond spreads could widen further The further widening in Italian bond spreads seen over the last few days appears partly to reflect suggestions that the downturn in the economy will once again raise questions over Italy’s future in... 5th March 2008 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Italian political crisis another blow to slowing economy The latest political crisis in Italy is unlikely to have a major impact on the markets or the economy itself. Nonetheless, at a time when consumer confidence is already slumping, the additional... 25th January 2008 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Focus Italian elections: Prodi probably the lesser of two evils Italian voters are facing a choice between two pre-determined coalitions in the general election on 9th-10th April - the centre-left Union coalition under Romano Prodi, currently leading by 3-5% in... 5th April 2006 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Focus Should Italy leave EMU? The fact that Italy’s economic under-performance is linked to the weakness of its external sector prompts the question of whether Italy should leave EMU to allow its currency to depreciate and regain... 20th September 2005 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Focus Why is Italy doing so badly? Italy’s second recession in two years is largely due to the loss of competitiveness in manufacturing, reflecting low productivity growth rather than rapid growth in wage costs. This has been... 30th June 2005 · 1 min read
