Abstract

The Financial and Economic Situation in Italy

This article presents information about the financial and economic situation in Italy. The only serious difficulty that Italian trade feels, apart from the dislocations of commerce and industry that are inseparable from war, is due to the very unfavorable rates for foreign exchange, and to the ruinous cost of marine transportation. It is needless to dwell on the reasons for ocean freight rates. But as to foreign exchange it should be noted that Italy is more unfavorably situated than any of her principal allies. She is not a gold-producing country like England, she has no large holdings of foreign securities like England and France, and she is not, like Soviet Union, independent of other countries for the necessaries of life.