THEItaly she is safe. At least for now, no downgrading of her rating. The fearsome agency Moody's, the last in chronological order to have to draw up the report card on Italy's credibility, confirmed yesterday evening, with the markets closed, the previous rating, which is Baa3, the lowest rung of investment grade, below which our securities would have fallen into junk bond hell and the Treasury would have had difficulty placing Bots and BTP on the market. But the news concerns the outlook, which goes from negative to positive. It means that Moody's can see better. And in fact he explains his recognition as a judgment that "reflects a stabilization of the prospects for the country's economic strength and the health of its banking sector". However, the American agency does not miss the opportunity to point out that "debt and deficit levels will remain high". It is exactly this - the mountain of public debt in the presence of high interest rates and weak growth - that is the sore point of the Italian economy, especially after having gone from the booming growth of 2021 and 2022 in the midst of the Draghi era to modest growth ( 0,7% this year and 0,8% expected for 2024) today and in the near future.
The "satisfaction" of the Minister of Economy is understandable, Giancarlo Giorgetti, which sees in Moody's judgment the invitation to continue a prudent line of economic policy, Parliament permitting.
