The Italian government on Friday 6/2/09 made a major intervention into the Italian Economy. Italy as everywhere else is struggling through the global crisis and finally Berlusconi’s government have made positive moves forward to assist the economy in Italy.  17.8 billion euros allocated  to funding for a major public works program.

The package was approved by the cabinet after it received a go-ahead from the interministerial economic committee Cipe earlier in the day.

Funding for the program is a mix of public and private resources, with infrastructure projects in southern Italy, including the Messina bridge linking Sicily to Reggio Calabria on the mainland, receiving some 49% of the public cash. A project that has been on the pipeline for years approved in 2003, cancelled by Prodi in 2006 and now lets hope will go ahead. Concerns over the involvment of the Mafia Read the rest of this entry »

Italy Politics:

If you would like to read a brief introduction into Italian politics and particularly the recent political background that has positioned Italy into the 21st century and in the Eurozone I recommend you to read this book review in the London Review of books on  2 book on Italy politics by Perry Anderson.

The Italian automobile car industry. Surviving the recession.

Last year 2008 Italy appeared to be surviving the global recession. Life continued as normal with only a few cut backs over xmas. No Italian banks have gone bankrupt, Italian mortgage interest rate was capped at 4% for variable interest rate Italian mortgages.

The air has changed since the start of 2009. The global automobile recession has now arrived in Italy. The industry contributes 11.5% to the Italian GDP Read the rest of this entry »

Italy is in a lot better situation than many other countries, the bank system has held the financial tsunami and not a single bank has been recorded to be gone bankrupt. This s not only due to the tight method to issue mortgages hat Italian banks have always adopted but it’s mainly due to the good habit of the Italians of not getting into debt. The average debt value of Italians has increased in the last years but still doesn’t reach 50% of the available income whereas in the rest of Europe is about 100% with peaks in the UK of 160%.

Property prices in Italy haven’t drastically dropped and experts say that the prices will hold but still in this tough period you could easily find a really good deal from some seller who needs to sell his house quickly and this can only make Italy even more attractive for property investors.

Now you know the answer, buying a property in Italy is the best choice if you want to invest in a home overseas and this without even mentioning the climate, the food, the landscape and that you would love to use your investment to enjoy your holidays.

I came across some interesting pension news this week for those buying property in Italy. A lot of Britons are thoroughly fed up with the country – too expensive, too crime ridden, too wet and too hard to make the most of our hard-earned pension. So news this week that Britons retiring abroad and those who wish to buy a property in Italy can take their pensions with them, will certainly be exciting some interest.

400,000 of us move abroad each year, and new rules allow us to move our pensions offshore too. The scheme you’re looking for is a Qualifying Registered Overseas Pension Scheme (QROPS). Move your money Read the rest of this entry »

Does anyone know when this first happened ?
Yesterday flying with Ryanair they announced that the inboard price list is not valid. Due to recent devaluation of sterling only the Euro prices on the inboard list are now valid and if you want to pay in sterling the exchange rate was 1 euro = 1 sterling.
Maybe Ryanair were the pioneer of the 1 sterling = 1 euro as it is over 12 months that his £10 sterling flights could be bought in Euroland for 10 Euros.!!!
Thank you to Ryanair for their cheap travel it makes buying a property in Italy so easy.

Salemi councillor, Toscani has registered the brand MAFIA on behalf of the Sicilian town, Salemi in Italy.

In a controversial move the Salemi mayor, Vittorio Sgarbi, said that Oliviero Toscani, (councillor for creativity for Salemi and currently responsible for communication regarding the offer of the 1 Euro houses in Salemi, Sicily, Italy) was “thinking about the advantages of the town”.

Toscani revealed regarding The acronym M.A.F.I.A that ”There is no particular study behind this label… We will use it as a vehicle for some communication projects,” he said.

Sgarbi – himself no stranger to controversy – invited Toscani to form part of his inner cabinet when he won the local elections on a centrist UDC and Christian Democrat coalition ticket in June.

The motormouth art critic left his post in Milan after months of disputes with centre-right mayor Letizia Moratti, including one over a gay art show that was to have featured a sculpture of Pope Benedict XVI in drag.

Sgarbi’s vision of regeneration in Salemi was highlighted with the Salemi councils offer of properties in Italy at 1 Euro. These cheap houses offer the possibility to buy a house in Italy.

FInd out further details at MIPC Salemi website

The new Italian social card launches in January 2009. Blue, no holder’s name and aimed at the Italian families and elderly. The latest idea of Italian economic minister Giulio Tremonti. Like a pre paid card the state will top up with 40 euros a month. Early birds whom get their card before the end of the year will get the last 3 months of the year added for a total of 120 euros.

Available to :

60-69 year olds with annual earnings not above 6,000 euro

Over 70’s with annual earnings upto 8,000 euros

Families with kids under 3 years old and annual earnings upto 6,000 euros.

Can be used to buy food, pay electricity bills and some shops even give a 5% discount to users.

If you want to apply for one go to your local post office with your modello ISEE ( “in need” document : you get this from either your local INPS, council or CAF offices.)

If you want to buy a property in Italy the social card can not be used

At nearly 105% of gross domestic product, Italy has the highest debt in Europe compared to the size of its economy, limiting the government’s ability to cut taxes and raise spending in a bid to lift the economy.

Silvio Berlusconi’s cabinet is this week set to review what the Italian premier dubbed an EUR80 billion stimulus package, but most of the funds have already been accounted for as E.U. money or in the Italian budget and maybe it will only be EUR4 Billion allocated to family support.

Italy‘s economic recession is likely to extend through much of 2009 due to lower demand and tighter lending conditions resulting from the global financial crisis, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said Tuesday.

In its bi-annual outlook report, the Paris-based organization of the world’s 30 most industrialized countries said it expects Italy’s gross domestic product to contract by 0.4% this year and by 1% in 2009. A recovery in Europe’s fourth-largest economy is expected only in 2010, when GDP is forecast to grow by 0.8%.

In June, before the international financial crisis deepened, the OECD had predicted that the Italian economy would expand by 0.5% in 2008 and by 0.9% in 2009.
“The recessionary forces affecting the whole OECD area come at a bad time for Italy, which was already suffering from a long period of low growth,” the OECD said.
It warned the financial turmoil was hitting an economy already weakened by several years of low productivity growth, deteriorating competitiveness and high public debt.

Out of its 30 member countries, the OECD expects only Iceland, Ireland and the U.K. – which are expected to be strongly hit by the financial crisis – to see their economies contract by more than Italy’s 1% rate in 2009. The economy of the 15-country euro area, which includes Italy, is seen shrinking 0.6% next year.

The OECD predictions are worse than those of the IMF, which Nov. 6 forecast Italian GDP would shrink by 0.2% this year and 0.6% in 2009, and of the European Commission, which Nov 3 predicted zero growth for both years.

Italian GDP shrank by a quarterly 0.5% in July-September, the largest decline since 1998, after contracting by a downwardly revised 0.4% in the second quarter, preliminary data from statistics office ISTAT showed Nov. 14.

Italy’s unemployment rate, which has been constantly falling for more than a decade to hit a 6.2% low in 2007, is expected to rise to 6.9% in 2008, 7.8% in 2009 and 8% in 2010 as a result of the economic recession.

Although Italian banks are less exposed to the household property market, profits have been hit sharply by the financial turmoil and higher inter-bank rates. As a result, credit conditions for Italian households and companies are tightening like in other countries, the OECD said.

“With high public debt, further fiscal tightening is inevitable – the consequences of excessive debt can be clearly seen in the recent widening of sovereign interest rate spreads,” the organization said.

The spread between Italian 10-year government bonds and equivalent German ones Oct. 31 hit their highest level since the start of the euro currency as investors sought safety away from countries like Italy with weak public finances.

At nearly 105% of gross domestic product, Italy has the highest debt in Europe compared to the size of its economy, limiting the government’s ability to cut taxes and raise spending in a bid to lift the economy.

Silvio Berlusconi’s cabinet is this week set to review what the Italian premier dubbed an EUR80 billion stimulus package, but most of the funds have already been accounted for as E.U. money or in the Italian budget and maybe it will only be EUR4 Billion allocated to family support.

Announced by the Italian national retail services association, Confesercenti, in a report “Crimes hold on business” the 4 main mafia organisations turnover 130 billion euros. Mafia Inc. has net profits of 70 B Euros, and turns over more than the Italian company Eni.
Ex mafia boss, Riina’s house, near Corleone in Sicily was recently sequestered by the Italian anti-racket federation and has been turned into an agriturismo.
In the current economic climate as banks squeeze on credit, businesses are turning to loan sharks. Italian Finance Minister, Tramonti, recently announced that though Italian banks have not suffered from the subprime crisis the Italian government will be pumping financial support into the economy prior to Christmas. The Italian bank Unicredit today announced profits of 551M euros, 150M more than financial analysts expected.

As the Beckhams start their search to buy a property in Italy, the market is expected to hold strong, as international investors follow the celebrities.
Visit Italian property for investment opportunities in Italy.