In 2009 about 90,000 manufacturing firms – a fifth of all Italian manufacturers – sold part of their output abroad. Many are able to reach distant, difficult markets like China: this is the case for 8,600 Italian industrial firms, against 6,300 German firms and 4,200 French firms.
In 2011, Italy’s foreign financial assets and liabilities amounted to 119 and 140 percent of GDP, respectively, up from 92 and 97 percent in 1999. 4. The crisis risks leading to re-nationalization of financial portfolios. The perceived risks are amplified by the uncertainty over the resolution of events that are in many respects  BIS central bankers’ speeches  1  unprecedented.