Italian rates rise in 6-month bond auction

Italy raised 8.5 billion euros ($11.4 billion) as planned at an auction of six-month bills on Wednesday, but the interest rate demanded by investors rose to 0.886 percent from 0.799 percent in July. Italy has been hit by a wave of international financial turbulence this week linked to the situation in Syria but also by concern about political instability in the country which has the eurozone's third-biggest economy. Prime Minister Enrico Letta's government -- an uneasy coalition between the centre-left Democratic Party and Silvio Berlusconi's centre-right People of Freedom party -- is due to hold a cabinet meeting later on Wednesday to decide on an unpopular property tax. Berlusconi supporters have threatened to bring down the government if the tax is not scrapped but a possible compromise solution appears to be taking shape, Italian media reported.