Partly as a result of this shift, investors have a high degree of confidence that interest rates will stay low for a long time. This assessment is reinforced by the fact that the global desire to save is high relative to the desire to invest in new capital.
In Italy, between 1995 and 2003 the volume of funds raised directly on the financial markets by firms issuing shares, bonds and other instruments grew from 20 billion euros to 65 billion. The amount of households’ financial wealth consisting of corporate securities increased from 180 billion euros to 470 billion, that is from 19 to 36 per cent of GDP.