Italy goes for growth with expansionary budget

Italy's centre-left government on Thursday approved an expansionary budget designed to ensure a fledgling economic recovery takes wing in 2016 at the cost of slowing the reduction of the country's massive 2.2-trillion-euro debt. Prime Minister Matteo Renzi described the theme of his growth-orientated package as "Italy with a plus sign". Instead of falling to 1.8 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), as forecast in the spring, or 1.4 percent as it would have done with a fiscally neutral budget