Italy's Silvio Berlusconi slams Europe's 'lords of austerity'

ROME: Italy's Silvio Berlusconi on Saturday said Europe's "lords of austerity" had tried to get rid of him, speaking in apparent breach of rules for candidates to stay silent the day before elections.

Berlusconi group leads in key region ahead of Italy vote

ROME (Reuters) - Silvio Berlusconi's center-right coalition is leading in a vital battleground region ahead of next month's Italian election, making it harder for left-wing rivals to form a stable parliamentary majority, according to a poll on Sunday.

EU pushes more moves to stem debt crisis

(Reuters) - European Union officials pushed on Saturday to accelerate moves to stem the bloc's long debt crisis as Italian premier Mario Monti warned that economic suffering was fuelling divisive nationalism on the continent.

Debt crisis threatens to break up Europe

Tensions within the eurozone over how to resolve the debt crisis are turning countries against each other and threatening to rip Europe apart, Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti has warned.

Italy eyes euro zone aid to ease debt pain

(Reuters) - Italy said on Tuesday it may want to tap euro zone aid to ease its borrowing costs as finance ministers struggled to convince markets they are getting a grip on the bloc's debt crisis, which a top European Central Banker said could escalate.

Eurozone four leaders agree economic growth package

Leaders of the eurozone's four biggest nations have agreed in principle to measures to boost growth equal to 1% of the currency area's economic output.

Italy decrees attack on monopolies and vested interests

Italy's new government is planning a broad, swift attack on the vested interests in Italian society, according to a junior minister.

German, French stocks up in light trading

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Global stock markets opened a risk-filled new year still smarting from a rough 2011, as many exchanges remained closed. German and French stocks rose in light volumes as a a reading of manufacturing activity in Europe improved.

Italians hope new government can save their nation

ROME – Even in a country where an inept, unstable and bickering government is nothing new, Italians say they are nervous about the future."What will be next if the Italian economy goes bankrupt?" asked Giacomo Levy, a 33-year-old psychologist. "It's something hard to imagine. People or business can go bankrupt. But the government?"

Kissinger’s Favorite Communist Paves Monti’s Way

Italy’s new government, headed by former European Union Commissioner Mario Monti, has an unlikely supporter in President Giorgio Napolitano, an ex-communist who once praised the Soviet Union for crushing the 1956 reformist movement in Hungary.