Life in the fast lane

14 January 2015 By Neil Unmack Follow @unmack1

Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has achieved more in 11 months than critics admit. But his weak parliamentary position has held him back. Upcoming presidential elections and another year of low growth could make life still harder for him.

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Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said on Jan. 13 that President Giorgio Napolitano, 89, would resign “in a matter of hours.”

The spread paid on 10-year Italian debt over equivalent German bonds has risen 15 basis points since early December, when Greece failed to elect a new president. The spread is currently 1.31 percent.

Italy resumed its 2015 funding programme on Jan. 13 by selling three-, seven- and 10-year bonds

The Italian economy is set to grow 0.6 percent in 2015, just over half the rate for the euro zone as a whole. The economy shrunk in both 2013 and 2014.

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