The Wall Street Examiner » Immovable Object

Italy’s tenacious leader caught between EU demands and allies’ reluctance on pension reform

Bears Chat at The Wall Street Examiner — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 14:56:55 +0000

Italy’s tenacious leader caught between EU demands and allies’ reluctance on pension reform
By Associated Press, Updated: Tuesday, October 25, 10:09 AM

MILAN — Pressure built on Italy’s embattled Premier Silvio Berlusconi as he struggled Tuesday to muster support for an emergency growth plan, which the EU wants within hours and which could cost the tenacious leader his job.

Berlusconi has survived scandals, court cases and dozens of confidence votes, but experts say this economic plan will be one of the most critical tests yet of is grasp of the country’s leadership.

Ministers and lawmakers on Monday were debating measures aimed at raising the retirement age to match that of Germany, which is raising its retirement age to 67 for anyone born after 1964. However, any change in Italy’s retirement age will face fierce resistance from Berlusconi’s main political ally, the Northern League, whose constituency includes workers in Italy’s productive north. Unions also oppose raising the pension age, as the European Union demanded Italy introduce tough new measures to spur economic growth.

Eurozone governments are trying to come up with a comprehensive plan to tackle their debt crisis by Wednesday. As part of that, they demanded that Italy draft new economic measures, arguing it would be pointless to protect the country from market turmoil if it didn’t pull its own weight.

But Berlusconi has found little support within his coalition for the demanded measures. Crucially, he faces resistance from his powerful ally, the Northern League, a minority coalition party led by Umberto Bossi and without whose support his government falls.

“Berlusconi has an immovable object at home which is Bossi and the Norther league, and an unstoppable force abroad which is the European Union, so he’s in a very very difficult position,” said James Walston, a political science professor at American University in Rome.

Bossi himself conceded that the government is at risk.

“Let’s say the situation is difficult, very dangerous,” he told reporters in Rome.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/markets/italys-tenacious-leader-caught- between-eu-demands-and-allies-reluctance-on-pension-reform/2011/10/25/gIQABJVPFM_story. html

Immovable Object Wins Round One

Lee Adler — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 14:35:12 +0000

Friday’s failure to penetrate trend resistance did nothing to clarify a cloudy technical picture. I’m inclined to think that the failure to break resistance is the overriding fact here, but screening data kept a bullish bias, Friday. Click here to download complete report in pdf format (Professional Edition Subscribers). Try the Professional Edition risk free for thirty days. If, within that time, you don’t find the information useful, I will give you a full refund. It’s that simple. Click here to become a member and get instant access to the current report and all past reports.

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Irresistable Force About to Meet Immovable Object- Professional Edition

Lee Adler — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 03:46:10 +0000

Short term cycle indicators and intermediate cycle screen measures showed more signs of strength. Click here to download complete report in pdf format (Professional Edition Subscribers). Try the Professional Edition risk free for thirty days. If, within that time, you don’t find the information useful, I will give you a full refund. It’s that simple. Click here for more information.

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Immovable Object and Irresistable Force – Professional Edition

Lee Adler — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 03:20:20 +0000

Friday’s rally left the technical picture muddled. It’s clear that a 6 month cycle up phase is under way. Thanks to heavy resistance it is not clear whether that up phase will make significant upside progress. In market terms this is the classic battle between the irresistible force, that being the 6 month and 10-12 month cycle upturns, meeting the immovable object, which is layers and layers of overhead supply. Click here to download complete report in pdf format (Professional Edition Subscribers). Try the Professional Edition risk free for thirty days. If, within that time, you don’t find the information useful, I will give you a full refund. It’s that simple. Click here for more information.