Sign up for our daily briefing
Make your busy days simpler with Axios AM/PM. Catch up on what's new and why it matters in just 5 minutes.
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Denver news in your inbox
Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Denver
Des Moines news in your inbox
Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Des Moines
Minneapolis-St. Paul news in your inbox
Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Twin Cities
Tampa Bay news in your inbox
Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Tampa Bay
Charlotte news in your inbox
Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Charlotte
Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte meets the press at Palazzo Chigi before summer break, on August 08, 2018 in Rome, Italy. Photo: Simona Granati - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images
Italy faces a potential downgrade in its sovereign credit rating from three agencies — Moody's, Fitch and S&P — as its newly-elected coalition government attempts to incorporate expensive campaign promises into its budget for next year, according to FXStreet.
The big picture: The spending promises made by the anti-establishment Five Star Movement and the far-right League, whose coalition government must approve a budget by mid-October, include cutting taxes while also boosting pensions and welfare — policies that could cost between $74 billion and $142 billion. Public debt already sits at 130% of GDP, second-largest in the euro zone, and an Italian banking crisis could spell serious trouble for the rest of Europe.