The German newspaper refers to the rise of the Italian and Greek economy Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

Having overcome the economic impact of the war in Ukraine, the Italian stock market is on the rise, with the leading FTSE MIB index up 7% year-on-year. Giorgos Saravelos, Deutsche Bank analyst, tells FAZ that “in Athens, house prices are 40% higher compared to the pre-coronavirus period, the economy is on the rise and the same picture prevails in Milan. How is it possible that Italy has survived the biggest energy crisis in European history, the fastest rate hikes by the E.K.T. and the departure of Mario Draghi in less than a year?’ Saravelos wonders. And he gives the answer himself: ‘Italy and Greece have it lower private sector debt among industrialized countries”.

Because of the above, despite the high public debt, these countries are the most suitable for attracting investment, according to analyst Giorgos Saravelos: “Investors should look less at the government debt and more at the debt of private households. This is the key variable in this cycle. Otherwise, the fact that last year Greece had the highest public debt, but at the same time also recorded the highest growth in the EU, cannot be explained.” And also: “Tighter monetary policy (through successive interest rate hikes) currently has only a weak impact in these countries,” because, as Saravelos explains, “simply put, very few Italians and Greeks they have a mortgage and, if they do, it is rarely a loan with a variable and therefore increasing interest rate.’