Italy seen clearing debt issue but challenges lie ahead

MILAN: Italy should manage to push through a closely watched bond sale, albeit at a record yield of around 6%, as the appointment of an emergency government brings some respite from market pressures that sent funding costs soaring last week.

Saddled with a towering debt, the eurozone's third-largest economy came close to financial disaster last week, when bond yields topped the 7% threshold that could shut it out of debt markets and in the past triggered international bailouts of Ireland and Portugal.