Rome (Italy) - Shares in Italy’s Monte dei Paschi suffered further steep falls on Monday as it makes a last-ditch attempt to raise five billion euros by year-end to avoid a state bailout.

Loan writedowns and bad debts, plus a lasting hangover from the financial crisis mean Italy’s banks are on the edge of a precipice. Provisions to cover liabilities on “unlikely to pay” and past due debt are less than half of those set aside for bad debt, limiting the freedom of the banks to get fresh credit on the markets.

Rome (Italy) - There was a bit more of a boost that expected for Italy’s sluggish economy in September as manufacturers continued to be more active.

Rome (Italy) - It has been confirmed Italy’s economy stagnated in the period from April to June – not growing at all from the first three months of the year.

Rome (Italy) - Italy's gross domestic product (GDP) was flat in the second quarter of 2016 with respect to the previous three months and up 0.7% compared to the same period last year, according to seasonally adjusted preliminary data released by Istat on Friday. The Italian economy returned to positive growth in 2015, with an 0.8% rise in GDP, after years of recession.

Rome (Italy) - Italy’s Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has been talking up the country’s third largest bank, Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena, even after it received the worst score in Europe-wide stress tests.