Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi on Wednesday (3 August) sought to allay market fears, claiming his country's economy is "solid" and "strong", as the borrowing cost for Rome has reached unsustainable levels.
"This is not an Italian crisis, but a planetary one ... We will not follow the nervousness of the markets," Berlusconi pledged in a 35-minute speech to parliament, insisting that Italy had "solid economic foundations" with "solvent" banks and low private debt.
He dela...
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