Italian public debt swells to highest level everDecember 14, 2012 - 17:18 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Italian public debt has swelled to its highest level ever, reaching €2.014 trillion ($2.64 trillion) in October, The Associated Press reports. The Bank of Italy on Friday, Dec 14, said that the debt pile has risen by 3.7 percent since January 2012, when it was €1.94 trillion. The Italian economy, the third-largest among the 17 European Union countries that use the euro, is in recession as the government has enacted spending cuts and tax hikes to get a handle on its debts. Italy has the second-highest debt level as a percentage of its GDP in the eurozone, behind only Greece. Italy's borrowing costs have been kept down in recent months, thanks mainly to a European aid program it has the option to tap, despite political uncertainty raised by Silvio Berlusconi's possible return to politics. Top stories Yerevan has dismissed Turkey’s demand to shut down the Armenian nuclear power plant as “inappropriate”. Armenia will loan 2.9 billion drams to Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh), according to a draft government decision. The Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan has “strongly condemned” Armenia’s decision. Kerobyan has said that for the first time in the history of Armenia, the volume of foreign direct investments amounted to about $1 billion. Partner news | The Power of One Dram to benefit Road of Life charity The companies inform that the May beneficiary of The Power of One Dram is the “Road of Life” charitable organization. Ucom General Director gives lecture at French University in Armenia The General Director of Ucom Ralph Yirikian delivered a lecture at the French University of Armenia. Kazakhstan welcomes Yerevan, Baku’s agreement to meet in Almaty Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has welcomed the agreement of Baku and Yerevan to hold negotiations in Almaty. Armenia offers to temporarily host, preserve Gaza manuscripts The Armenian Foreign Minister has said Yerevan is ready to help preserve manuscripts from the conflict zone in Gaza. |