Does Italy deserve its place on the periphery?

ITALY

Italy is a functional economy with problems, rather than a dysfunctional economic problem, says Kevin Lilley, manager of the Old Mutual European Equity fund.

Italy is different. It stands among the original G7 economies, a large, developed, industrial market. Its economy is larger than Canada, eight times the size of Greece and 10 times the size of Ireland or Portugal. It has a history of innovative manufacturing as deep and successful as any in continental Europe. The good Italy In Ferrari and Lamborghini, Italy can probably claim to make the most highly engineered cars anywhere in the world. In Fiat, it has managed to sustain a volume car producer, one which is exposed to the revival of US automotives through its involvement with Chrysler...