Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti has written a detailed account of how he spent his New Year’s Eve dinner, after a member of parliament questioned the appropriateness of holding a personal party at the Palazzo Chigi – the official residence for the Prime Minister’s office.
Italy’s short-term debt costs fell by half on Wednesday, after the country managed to raise 9 billion euros from 6-month bonds at an average yield of 3.25 percent, compared to the euro-era record of 6.5 percent set last month.
At the same time, the Italian Treasury also managed to raised 1.733 billion euros from zero coupon bonds due in 2013 at a rate of 4.853 percent, down from 7.814 percent last month.
The Catholic Church in Italy could soon be forced to pay property taxes to the government, after intense pressure from Italy’s left wing parties called for the country’s newly reinstated property tax to be extended to commercial properties operated by the Church.
Italy’s industrial economy is a diverse mixture of private companies; developed industrial clusters in the north and a welfare dependant, less developed and underemployed southern region that focuses on agricultural, agrarian, fisheries, and farming.
