EU won't sanction France, Italy on budget yet

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union head office is opting not to sanction two of its biggest economies just yet for missing public finance targets and instead will give France and Italy until the spring to come up with better plans to cut their debts and deficits.

Italian police uncover €1.7bn corporate fraud

Italian police have uncovered a fraud which they say has cost Italian taxpayers €1.7bn (£1.3bn; $2.2bn).

Italy asks EU to exclude infrastructure projects from deficits: minister

(Reuters) - Italy is asking the European Union to exclude spending on infrastructure projects from the calculation of national budget deficits, Transport Minister Maurizio Lupi was quoted as saying in Corriere della Sera newspaper.

Italy, Spain Face Budget Scrutiny as Euro Ministers Meet

Italy and Spain will defend their 2014 spending plans at a meeting of euro-area finance ministers today, risking a clash over economic frailties that could undermine efforts to pull the currency bloc out of a debt crisis now in its fifth year.

EU's Rehn: Italy needs political stability for reforms, growth

PARIS (Reuters) - Italy must quickly restore political stability to make the reforms it needs to return to growth, the European Union's top economic official said on Tuesday.

Banks to repay 8 bln euros of ECB crisis loans next week

BANGALORE: Political uncertainty in Italy means early repayments of European Central Bank crisis loans will likely keep falling next week, with banks returning around 8 billion euros, a Reuters poll of money market traders showed on Monday.

Asmussen: ECB Will Only Buy Bonds in Parallel With EFSF, ESM

The European Central Bank will intervene in bond markets on behalf of countries only in conjunction with the euro zone's bailout programs and only if the International Monetary Fund is involved in the reform process, an ECB executive board member said Thursday.

Italy plays down prospects it will tap EU rescue funds

MILAN (Reuters) - Italy does not at the moment need to ask the euro zone's rescue funds to buy its government bonds in the markets to bring down borrowing costs, Bank of Italy Governor Ignazio Visco and Cabinet Undersecretary Antonio Catricala said on Sunday.

Euro rescue fund boost would calm markets: fund chief

Bolstering the eurozone's bailout fund would reassure the markets as many financial players do not believe the crisis is over, Klaus Regling, the head of the fund has told a German news magazine.

Italy Agrees to Allow I.M.F. to Monitor Its Progress on Debt

Acceding to pressure from European leaders, Italy “invited” the International Monetary Fund to look over its shoulder to ensure that Rome is carrying out reforms devised to keep the country from succumbing to Europe’s widening sovereign debt crisis, European Union officials said Friday.In an extraordinary move, Italy said it had offered to allow the fund to scrutinize its books every three months to make sure a $75 billion austerity package is carried out according to plan.