The Wall Street Journal-20080131-Politics - Economics- In Brief
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Politics & Economics: In Brief
Full Text (262 words)Italy's President Offers Measure
To Conclude Political Impasse
Italy's president tried to break a weeklong political logjam sparked by the resignation of Prime Minister Romano Prodi last week by asking Senate speaker Franco Marini to form an interim government, but it was far from certain whether Parliament would back the move. President Giorgio Napolitano asked Mr. Marini, a former union leader who once headed a Catholic party, to try to garner enough support for a transitional government charged with changing the voting system before new elections could be held. That pits Mr. Marini against conservative opposition leader Silvio Berlusconi, who is demanding immediate elections that opinion polls say he is likely to win.
OPEC Panel Won't Meet Early,
Indicating No Change to Output
An OPEC advisory committee won't meet before the gathering of ministers from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries tomorrow, perhaps indicating the group will hold production steady at its first meeting of the year. The committee, known as the Ministerial Monitoring Committee, comprises a small group of OPEC members, including Iran and Nigeria. It typically meets before a gathering of the full OPEC 13 to gauge global oil supply and demand data and make a policy recommendation.
India Eases Some Regulations
On Foreign Direct Investment
India eased rules on foreign direct investment in key sectors, underscoring its continued effort to attract foreign capital to sustain economic growth. The cabinet lifted the ceiling on foreign investment in commodity exchanges, credit-information companies and state-run refineries to 49% from 26%, and said it will allow 100% foreign direct investment in titanium mining.
