News From Italy

Euro-zone factories buzzed with unespected strong output in July and August,suggesting that the region is coping well with higher interest rates and the strong Euro.

In particular France,Italy and Germany showed a strong output for the first two months of the third quarter.

Italian industrial output for August beat expectations,rising 1.3% from July and 3% from a year earlier,its largest annual gain since December 2006,as production of textiles,clothingand plastics soared,statistic office Istat said.

Friday's stock gains were fueled by a strong employment report, suggesting that the economy has enough strenght to avoid recession.
Employers added 110,000 jobs last month. The details of the  governament data predict that the economy is downshifting to a slower speed.
The USA economic growth is slowing as the deteriorating housing market and credit-market turmoil take a roll.
An average of 74000 jobs per month were created in the private sector.
Forcasters estimate that the economy grew at an annual rate of 3.1% in the third quater downfrom second quarter's 3.8%.
The unticipated decline in payrolls in august that was reported last month contributed to the fed decision to cut interest rates by 1/2 of a percentage point at their September meeting.
The Fed said consumer borrowing grew 6% in August from a year eralier,the fastest in three months.

The fall of the Berlin Wall may have not only freed many Eastern European countries from the control of command economies but also freed many Western European countries from being dominated by US consumer markets. As the new markets are emerging, the longer established west - led by Germany, France and Italy – is benefiting from the eastern desire to industrialize rapidly.