Italian overall business confidence drops

Italy’s overall business confidence has fallen for the month of February, amid news of the country’s general elections that left a stalemate between major political parties.

The official data agency Istat reported on Wednesday that the index for manufacturing, construction, services and trade sectors dropped to 77.4 points for the month of February from 80 in January.
The index, conducted in the first half of February, was based on a poll of approximately 4,000 businesses.
As the eurozone’s third largest economy, experts say Italy’s borrowing costs are expected to increase as a result.
Global stock prices also plunged with Milan’s FTSE Mib index falling 4.43 percent to 15,627 points in early trading on Tuesday, as parliamentary election results produced no clear winner.
No major political blocs have been able to garner enough support to win a majority vote in both houses of Parliament, making it difficult for the government to fight back the ongoing debt crisis.
For the eurozone, the stakes are high since the outcome of the elections in Italy will set the government’s commitment to austerity measures.
The European Commission said earlier this month that Italy is expected to continue in its economic hardship including a contraction expected later this year, a 1 percent drop in the gross domestic product for 2013 following a 2.2 percent plunge in 2012, and a rise in unemployment to hit 12 percent in 2014.