Italy to lighten business-debt load

Italian Premier Mario Monti announced a debt-relief plan Tuesday for Italian businesses, which collectively owe up to 30 billion euros in debt. "We have adopted four decrees that aim to reduce the burdens" owed by businesses to the government, said Monti after a cabinet meeting. The premier, whose caretaker government of non-political technocrats replaced the Berlusconi administration amid the tumult of the euro crisis in November, said the move sought to "give fuel to jumpstart productivity" in Italy's businesses. "They are facing the crisis with determination," he said, noting that business debts to the government, often owed by small enterprise, were already between 20 and 30 billion euros since the start of the year.