Italy scrambles to soothe market jitters
By Deepa Babington
ROME, July 10 | Sun Jul 10, 2011 12:46pm EDT
ROME, July 10 (Reuters) - Italy's government scrambled to present a united front and defend the embattled economy minister on Sunday, hoping to soothe market fears that triggered a sell-off in Italian stocks and bonds last week.
The sell-off, fueled in part by fears that Economy Minister Giulio Tremonti may be forced out, raised concern that market contagion worries might be shifting to Italy and set off alarm bells in the European Union, the ECB and the Bank of Italy.
