Italy's economic minister sticks by forecast of recession ending

Italian Economy Minister Fabrizio Saccomanni said he had not changed his mind about the Italian recession ending by the end of 2013. "I don't know of anything to change my forecast," Saccomanni said Friday despite an unexpected drop in Italy's industrial production data. After two consecutive months of month-to-month increases, industrial production in Italy dropped 1.1 percent from June to Jul. That was the largest month-to-month drop since June 2012, ANSA reported Saturday. Industrial production was down 4.3 percent from July 2012, notching the 23rd consecutive month in which the data was down compared to a year earlier, ANSA said. Saccomanni's most recent forecast called for an end to the recession by the third or fourth quarter of 2013.