Italy's benchmark stock index leapt 3.7 percent and the nation's borrowing costs plunged after the country's Senate passed a crucial austerity budget demanded by the European Union. Other European stock markets and the euro also pushed higher as investors became more confident that Italy would avoid a fiscal disaster. The passage clears the way for Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi to step down. Berlusconi was widely considered an obstacle to serious economic reforms. The yield on Italy's benchmark two-year bond dropped 0.43 percentage point to 5.69 percent. That's a sign bond investors think Italy will succeed in managing its massive debt load.
Italy's benchmark stock index leapt 3.7 percent and the nation's borrowing costs plunged after the country's Senate passed a crucial austerity budget demanded by the European Union. Other European stock markets and the euro also pushed higher as investors became more confident that Italy would avoid a fiscal disaster.
ReplyDeleteThe passage clears the way for Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi to step down. Berlusconi was widely considered an obstacle to serious economic reforms. The yield on Italy's benchmark two-year bond dropped 0.43 percentage point to 5.69 percent. That's a sign bond investors think Italy will succeed in managing its massive debt load.