Italy’s Debt Cost Dips, but Its Economic Perils Remain

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/29/world/europe/despite-drop-in-borrowing-rates-italys-economic-travails-remain-acute.html?_r=1&hp

Financial market pressure on Italy eased temporarily on Wednesday, with borrowing rates on some government-issued debt dropping by half. But the political pressure on the government of Prime Minister Mario Monti remained high — and was rising.