in italy it was primarily about corruption in italy and corruption is the time in pretty good system and this is what lies behind a success of the five star movement they're basically saying there's also a rap so know how it's working for you guys you know people. david in london goals because what it was was almost a no i agree that i agree that's about italian economies and then they are fed up but it isn't the neighbor force there's no i mean to ones from the right over to you but what people have voted this is very clear in the program of five stars they want to change their god they want to change everybody in ruling because those things are not served by those people well maybe they're not david go ahead i got is got this is a crook is this is a pan-european as i've said before as a pan-european thing. of eight hundred forty eight is spreading right across europe and starting greece is now moving to italy spain and i can assure you right now france is going the same way the french economy is an appalling polling situation they're fed up with the right all along we had to electi

in italy it was primarily about corruption in italy and corruption in pretty good system and this is what lies behind a success of the five star movement they're basically saying there's also a musical director knows how it's working for you guys and people. david in london goals because what it was was almost a high i agree that i agrees it's about italian economies and then they are fed up but it isn't the neighbor force there's no i mean she was an iraq war between you but what people have voted this is very clear in the program of five stars they want to change their god they want to change everybody in ruling because those things are not served by those people well maybe they're not david go ahead i don't know his got this is a crook is this is a pan-european as i've said before as a pan-european thing revolutions of eight hundred forty eight is spreading right across europe and starting greece is now moving to italy spain and i can assure you right now france is going the same way the french economy is an appalling polling situation they're fed up with the right all along we ha

in italy it was primarily about corruption in italy and corruption in the top in political system and this is what lies behind a success of the five star movement they're basically saying there's also a musical director knows how it's working for you guys and a lot of people. david in london goals because when it was almost a high i agrees that i agrees it's about italian economies and then they are fed up but it isn't the neighbor force there's no i mean the ones are not right over to you but what people have voted this is very clear into a program of five stars they want to chance a god they want to change everybody in rule because those things are not served by those people well maybe they're not david go ahead and get this is a crook is this is a pan-european as i've said before as a pan-european thing as a rule of eight hundred forty eight is spreading right across europe and starting greece is now moving to italy spain and i can assure you right now france is going the same way the french economy is an appalling polling situation they're fed up with the right all along we had to

markets are right to worry about italy. end of this week, we'll have the italian parliament congregating, convening for the first time. it's looking unlikely that we'll get a fast solution to the political uncertainty there. that means we're fought going to see any further progress in terms of reforms. italy doesn't need that much more in terms of austerity. progress may not be that worrying. but the problem is, if there is another financial market panic, there is no government to act and that should worry people. >> and this is exactly where the ecb has promised to do whatever it takes and is, in fact, the plans to use this omt relies on the government as we heard mario draghi last week rely on the government asking for it. if there is no government, it's going to be tough to ask for it. >> yes. it was a bit of a warning for mario draghi last week to refer to the old conditions of the omt, which means there needs to be a bailout first, then there can be support from the ecb and a bailout means everybody in the eurozone has

in italy it was primarily about corruption in italy and corruption is a pretty good system and this is what lies behind a success of the five star movement they're basically saying there's also a corrupt i don't know how it's working for you guys you know people. david in london goals because when it was the most high i agrees that i agrees it's about italian economies and then they are fed up with it isn't the neighbor force there's no life being told well mr narayana between you but what people have voted this is very clear in the program of five stars they want to change their god they want to change everybody in rule because those things are not served by those people well maybe they're not david go ahead and get this is a crook this is a pan-european as i've said before it's a pan-european thing revolutions of eight hundred forty eight is spreading right across europe and starting greece is now moving to italy spain and i can assure you right now france is going the same way the french economy is an appalling polling situation they're fed up with the right all along we had to e

and italy's recent sovereign downgrade. for more, phillipe, managing director at pimco, joins us now. it doesn't sound like it will know a pretty picture in the fourth quarter. is there any sign that this is the bottom? >> i don't think this is the level. they will candidate that, you happen, they're all. i don't think you'll continue to see that, especially in light of the recession. you know, they trade at a significant discount. i think partially it is quite savings. but really, again, the pressure on the levels of structure on the provision in italy is something that's been a bit under the radar. but i think it's coming through, as well. >> there's a negative feedback here and is a lot of the italian banks have been buying italy's debt. have they not? >> right. but i think that's the least poorly performing port follow he yos. the concern here is the level of s&p around 15% and the level of provision in the nfls is very low and it can be adjusted. so i think the pressure is coming from the real economy in italy, not fro

but her ordeal was not over. >> shock waves in italy. >> after the prosecutor appealed his case, italy's highest court announced a shocking decision tuesday. to overturn her acquittal. amanda knox's attorney, ted simon, said the ruling was disappointing but it's hardly a time to panic. the supreme court has a much narrower scope of review. all they're supposed to do is to look and see whether or not the appellate court jury acted within its jurisdiction and according to the proper rules. it does not relitigate or it does not reconsider or re-evaluate or reopen the facts. and that's why everyone remains reasonably hopeful without prejudging what they will do. >> for amanda knox, it's now a waiting game. >> she as well as her family have acted with the, you know, utmost courage, persistence, patience, grace, dignity throughout all these proceedings. but like everyone else, they're waiting for what the decision will be. >> and if she's ultimately convicted again? >> the italian government may say to the united states bring us amanda knox, she's been duly convicted in our courts, you have si

italy is a country without hope. >> italy's next government will have to get tough on public spending. he sees no alternative, but his wife does not think that grillo's five star alliance has the answers. >> grillo's people are in experience. it is great to finally have normal citizens in parliament . abroad be there is no escaping the scale of the problems they now have to deal with. >> the family watches the evening news, unsure of where their country is headed. federico expects a lot from the new parliament. his parents just want the government to be formed quickly to put an end to the month of political limbo. >> beppe grillo is increasing the uncertainty. millions of italians gave him the protest votes. now he has to learn how to take responsibility and act for all italians. even those who did not vote for him. >> federico is staying focused on his sporting teams while politicians struggle to bring italy back on course. >> tie 1 is assessing the damage after a strong earthquake jolted the island wednesday morning. at least one person was killed when a temple wall collapsed, and a

in italy it was primarily about corruption in italy and corruption in that italian pretty good system and this is what lies behind the success of the five star movement they're basically saying there's also a rap so know how it's working for you guys and people. david in london goals because what it was almost you know i agree that i agree that the bad italian economy is and then they are fed up but it isn't the neighbor force there's no i mean to ones are not right or between you but what people have voted this is very clear in the program of five stars they want to change so god they want to change everybody in rule because those things are not served by those people well maybe they're not david go ahead and get this is a crook is this is a pan-european as i've said before as a pan-european thing. of eight hundred forty eight is spreading right across europe and starting greece is now moving to italy spain and i can assure you right now france is going the same way the french economy is an appalling polling situation they're fed up with the right all along we had an election in fran

in italy it was primarily about corruption in italy and corruption is that italian pretty good system and this is what lies behind us success of the five star movement they're basically saying there's also a corrupt i don't know how it's working for you guys you know people. david in london goals because when it was almost you know i agree that i agrees it's about italian economies and then they are fed up but it isn't the neighbor force there's no i mean she longs for an iraq war between you but what people have voted this is very clear into a program of five stars they want to change their god they want to change everybody in rule because those things are not served by those people well maybe they're not david go ahead i just is going to this is a crock it's this is a pan-european as i've said before as a pan-european thing is. faulty it is spreading right across europe and starting greece is now moving to italy spain and i can assure you right now france is going the same way the french economy is an appalling polling situation they're fed up with the right all along we had to elec

does it matter that no one is running italy? the line in italy has always been the government sleeps and the economy grows. >> well, no, it does matter to be honest. it does matter a lut. we're not worried. you shouldn't be worried. things will be sorted out and we'll go how into a little bit. don't panic. i was in the aspen ideas festival late june 2012. everybody was talking about the doom day and everything is over and i told them, keep quiet. let's see what happens. and, in fact, it turned out that things got better. so, before we decide that it's over. i think the expression is not over until the fat lady sings. it comes from opera. opera is italian, don't forget that. >> but let me ask you, beppe, why did the italians do this? it is one thing to reject astaiusterity and things like t. you rejected one or two depending on one's estimation of silvio berlusconi. what are the italians saying? >> out of four italians. one didn't vote, one voted for berlusconi. one voted for the center left and that's why we are in a stalemate.

italy is a country without hope. >> italy's next government will have to get tough on public spending. he sees no alternative, but his wife does not think that grillo's five star alliance has the answers. >> grillo's people are in experience. it is great to finally have normal citizens in parliament . abroad be there is no escaping the scale of the problems they now have to deal with. >> the family watches the evening news, unsure of where their country is headed. federico expects a lot from the new parliament. his parents just want the government to be formed quickly to put an end to the month of political limbo. >> beppe grillo is increasing the uncertainty. millions of italians gave him the protest votes. now he has to learn how to take responsibility and act for all italians. even those who did not vote for him. >> federico is staying focused on his sporting teams while politicians struggle to bring italy back on course. >> tie 1 is assessing the damage after a strong earthquake jolted the island wednesday morning. at least one person was killed when a temple wall collapsed, and a

the ftse mib up fractionally in italy. otherwise, we've seen the ibex lower, the xetra dax, the ftse 100 lower, too. the pause after the rally we've seen is certainly the case in europe today. now take a look at the bond space where we've been watching, for example, what happened in spain and italy. we are generally seeing a rotation out of peripheral debt into some of the more safe haven markets like treasury. italy and spain, 4.65% and 4.88% respectively. spain's longer term debt auction failed to reach what markets thought it might raise. here is a look at what's been happening in forex. a lot going on. mervyn king making governor last night suggesting that he thought the pound was roughly at fair value. in other words, he's not trying to talk it lower. you can see a sharp reaction in response to the 1.51 level. jack lew is treasury secretary although that's potentially seen as lip service. the dollar/yen, given up 0.1%. the euro is a little firmer on the day. given that we've seen the yen improving a little bit, what i

what does italy need? it needs huge reforms of its markets and it needs to open things up and all kind of deep fundamental reforms to kind of energize the italian economy. it needs huge political reforms, too, because there is a sort of outrage at the italian political elite. austerity by which i mean tax increases of which there have been a lot and hitting short-term deficits is the source of the problem. i think the emphasis is to make the point more broadly within europe, it's been much too much hitting short-term deficit targets. -day slightly disagree with you in terms of emphasis. i think much more emphasis on growth would have made the economics of the reform program more sustainable and would have helped the politics. >> in a way it seems that you needed less austerity and more structural reform. but the structural reform is the hardest thing to do. that's when you're breaking up gills, you're taking on unions. you're opening up protected sectors of the economy. frankly we haven't done that much of

but her ordeal was not over. >> shock waves in italy. >> after the prosecutor appealed his case, italy's highest court announced a shocking decision tuesday. to overturn her acquittal. amanda knox's attorney, ted simon, said the ruling was disappointing but it's hardly a time to panic. the supreme court has a much narrower scope of review. all they're supposed to do is to look and see whether or not the appellate court jury acted within its jurisdiction and according to the proper rules. it does not relitigate or it does not reconsider or re-evaluate or reopen the facts. and that's why everyone remains reasonably hopeful without prejudging what they will do. >> for amanda knox, it's now a waiting game. >> she as well as her family have acted with the, you know, utmost courage, persistence, patience, grace, dignity throughout all these proceedings. but like everyone else, they're waiting for what the decision will be. >> and if she's ultimately convicted again? >> the italian government may say to the united states bring us amanda knox, she's been duly convicted in our courts, you have si

do we extradite to italy? >> italy goes to interpol, the international police and put a red alert warrant for her arrest and i don't know, a lot of countries, a lot, from afghanistan to spain, that would say if she comes through their airport with the passport and they would grab her and bring her back to italy. the united states of america i do not believe is part of that treaty so they would ask the american government and here is the thing. our government recognizes double-jeopardy. you can't be tried twice for the same crime so my understanding is we would say, we're sorry italy. if you said she killed someone and ran to america, we would bring her back, but you guys had your day in court. >> megyn: you acquitted her. >> the evidence was presented and the evidence found her in the to be guilty of these crimes, we don't allow you to do it and please don't do it in america-- >> violates our laws and policy and constitution to allow her to try her after acquittal. >> and the laws of double-jeopardy is a found

she didn't know where yet. >> amanda would decide on perugia, italy. her sister deanna remembers when she moved into this house which she shared with three other girls, two italians and one british student named meredith kercher. why was she so set on that apartment? >> i think because of the people really. it was close to the college and her roommates are the sweetest people in the world. >> but after only six weeks in italy on the night of november 1st, 2007, amanda's overseas adventure would take a bizarre turn. amanda claims she slept over with her boyfriend raffaello sollecito that night. according to her, they cooked dinner at his house, smoked hashish and made love. on that same night, meredith kercher returned to the home she shared with amanda after watching a movie with friends. sometime between 11:00 p.m. and midnight a witness living in these apartments across the street claimed to hear a scream and multiple footsteps running away from the house in opposite directions. the next day knox says she returned home to shower and change clothes. t

in italy, though, the state can appeal and it did. today, the country's supreme court rendered a decision to try her again. in a moment, the life she's made for herself back home. but first, ben wedeman and the daily beast, barbie ladough on the court decision that could turn the new life she has upside down. ben, the judges haven't issued the reason behind their ruling, have they? >> reporter: no. in fact, they have up to 90 days, anderson, to do that and of course, then the prosecution and defense has 45 days to respond. so this is not a fast track case in any sense of the word. this could take quite awhile. >> can you explain exactly what is going on? a lot of people in the u.s. have been likening this to double jeopardy, being tried for the same crime twice. you say that's not an apt comparison. >> no, that's not right at all. italy has a three-tier system in which there are really three levels to every single criminal trial, whether a simple robbery or murder as complex as the murder of meredith kercher. in the first case the low

she would be insane to go back to italy. and "b" could she be extradited back to italy for punishment in case of conviction? so the simple answer is, it's up to the secretary of state. there is a treaty with italy and the united states governing extradition. it's at the discretion of the united states secretary of state whether or not a person goes back. >> brian: does the knox family fight this in abstensia? >> hundreds of thousands of dollars making that determination right now. by going with a lawyer does that confer jurisdiction on amanda knox even though she doesn't appear? if a lawyer appears would that hurt her? or this a country roo court, i have my own story to tell. she has a book coming out next month. she is going to talk about it. is that going to be sympathetic book where she will be lashing out at italian authorities. she has to tread carefully even though she is seattle. she has to tread carefully a way that doesn't bring disrespect to the italian system and makes this go away. perhaps they pull back. in the

obviously, the key paper, spain and italy in particular. today we're seeing the rotation out of those countries, out of the periphery into the relative safety of guilds and bunds, 1.13%. doesn't that say it all on the ten-year german bund yield? the euro/dollar is giving up about 0.1%, down $1.29 this morning and its euro weakness predicated on economic underperformance more than anything that analysts keep pointing to an even weaker euro in the year ahead. >>> now, the bank of england's financial policy committee is expected to reveal the extent of the funding gap at uk banks, but just how will they decide to tackle it? find out at 10:30 cet. we'll be right back. zap technology. departure. hertz gold plus rewards also offers ereturn-- our fastest way to return your car. just note your mileage and zap ! you're outta there ! we'll e-mail your receipt in a flash, too. it's just another way you'll be traveling at the speed of hertz. a new ride comes along and changes everything. the powerful gs. get great values on your favorite lexus models d

italy leads european stocks higher as gen rally shares rally. they posted better-than-expected earnings after the ceo promised a revolution. >>> lufthansa is taking flight saying its revamp will help boost operating profits. >>> and samsung fires the next shot in the global smartphone wars, getting ready to set its next device right in apple's backyard. >>> and pope francis begins the day with a prayer outside the vatican as the pope continues to celebrate the election of the first non-european pope in 1300 years. >> announcer: you're watching "worldwide exchange," bringing you business news from around the globe. >> well, the dow did it nine days straight, 16 days higher. about 34 the points above fair value on the dow. adding about 20 at this point. the nasdaq is pointing higher. take a look at what's been happening worldwide. the cnbc ftse global 300 is up about 11% today. pretty much a mirror image of what we saw yesterday. the same is true when we take a look at european markets. it's rebounding, adding about 1.3%. this follows yesterday, i

both in italy and spain. and i think, you know, what the election outcome has done, it's been the most disappointing in a way that we could have seen for the market. it's clouded the structural reform, and the growth paths to the economy and the fiscal consolidation that we're seeing. >> it's all -- it's going to embark on a multi month, multi year fall out. kind of a really confident to the dollar rally across the board. now it could extend cable lower and it could be a reflect job of that, as well. >> the world economic system is looking more stable, start to go turn tharnd. some of the big investors are starting to get out of gold. i know a lot of the hedge funds are thinking about where do you start shorting this. >> and the federal reserve will announce results of the latest round of bank stress tests today at 4:30 p.m. eastern. it's a two-step process. the fed will first reveal how much capital the banks would have to hold under a severe economical downturn. the central bank will tell them privately whe

coming up italy's paralyzed by a post vote stalemate just what it needs a reliable government more than ever. the dog should be to account be paid for all of the current economics of the italian system well we've got some projections on where the coalition tails could lead the already struggling euro zone's coming up shortly they said quest kicks in taking a chain saw to america's economy with eighty five billion dollars and potentially hundreds of thousands of jobs to be cut thanks to republican and democrat. and more the big news in the last seven days after more than a thousand days of waiting u.s. soldier bradley manning got to tell the world why he exposed classified military data to wiki leaks on thursday he confessed to some of the lesser charges against him which still carry a twenty year jail sentence but prosecutors are playing on nonetheless to get a conviction of aiding the enemy were an important now on manning's reasons for risking everything to go public. guilty but not sorry more than one thousand days after his arrest u.s. army private bradley manning admitted to being

what does this mean for italy now? it's a critical juncture and one investors around the world are watching closely. it's one thing for markets to sell off on cyprus risk eggs. it's another for them to sell off when it looks like italy is moving into the cross hairs. >> you would get the markets would expect that the ecb would carry on sustaining italy, if there was an attack and push the spread and see what happens, a lot would depend on how draghi expects. given the stakes are so much higher, you would suspect the ecb would stick with the line. somebody might be thinking of trying it out, testing their result. >> they need a government to bargain with or to deal with them, ultimately. >> there is an intrimt government. the government was the one that was there before, led by monte. but there is a government. we saw in belgium, wasn't under the same kind of pressure as italy now, but belgium was in the same situation in a sense. >> and we've heard from investors saying that's one reason they haven't been more concerne

of italy, can we go ahead and show my favorite chart. if you look at what's been happening on market action, we've seen the back up at 4.9%. you have to wonder, oh, look at that. beautiful chart. you just have to wonder if we're heading that toward inversion. usually it's a gauge fof eu crisis risk. promise, plenty more on that on the show later. >> gilt yields down at two-month lows, on the other hand, post the moody's downgrade. >> exactly. so lots of market chatter to get through. >> and lots to get on today's show. besides that, president obama and congress failed to reach a deal to avert $85 million in automatic spending cuts as the sequester kicks in. we'll be in washington, d.c. as we look ahead to what's next in the budget battle and the potential impact. >> swiss voters overwhelmingly backed voters to get a cap or executive pay. >>> and the bonus battle launched into london's property sector. the talk of capping bank bonuses as a possibility to end central london status as a real estate safe haven. >> clearly not the case in chi

italy's locked in limbo a week after parliamentary elections failed to produce a clear winner parties across the political spectrum and so far refusing any talk coalitions margaux be holding the balance of power meantime is former comedian better pay grillo unease suggesting that italy might even leave the euro and return to the lira that's raised eyebrows across the euro zone which is cautiously watching how the deadlocks going to be resolved placing is still however behind the democrats a coalition led by disgraced former prime minister silvio berlusconi investment vizor patrick young says italy's eurozone partners have good reason to worry the dots a veto can't be paid for under the current economics of the italian system of course we've heard a number of politicians who spent the whole of the last fifty or sixty years in frankly all of western europe telling people that government would ultimately be the answer to all of their problems that era is over we're looking at an era of smaller government smaller debt and actually a great deal more powerful isn't relevant the government a

will amanda knox face retrial for murder in italy? we're expecting to hear the answer to that question tomorrow. the judges on italy's supreme court heard arguments in the case today. as you know, knox and her former boyfriend were convicted for the 2007 murder of meredith kercher, her college roommate in italy. they spent four years in prison until an italian appeals court overturned their convictions in 2011. amanda knox, who always maintained her innocence, then returned home to the united states. despite the appellate court's ruling, prosecutors do want to try them again. earlier tonight, i spoke with cnn's ben wedeman who was at the court in rome for today's hearing and the correspondent for the daily beast. ben, many expected there was going to be a ruling tonight. it looks like it won't come down until tomorrow morning, is that correct? >> reporter: that's right. we were told earlier today we should be expecting some sort of announcement regarding this verdict at 9:00 p.m. however, at 9:00 p.m., a judge came out of the supreme

live italy with some developing details. every. >>> and his hit show takes place in one of my cities, new orleans. and wendell pierce has a plan to bring healthy food to low-income neighborhoods. you're watching "starting point," back in a moment. we all have one. that perfect spot. a special place we go to smooth out the ripples of the day. it might be off a dock or on a boat. upstream or in the middle of nowhere. wherever it may be, casting a line in the clear, fresh waters of michigan lets us leave anything weighing us down back on shore. our perfect spot is calling. our perfect spot is pure michigan. your trip begins at michigan.org. [ male announcer ] how could switchgrass in argentina, change engineering in dubai, aluminum production in south africa, and the aerospace industry in the u.s.? at t. rowe price, we understand the connections of a complex, global economy. it's just one reason over 75% of our mutual funds beat their 10-year lipper average. t. rowe price. invest with confidence. request a prospectus or summary

sounding like she's not going to go back to italy but she can still be tried. she done have to be there, right? >> no, that's right. according to the italian law, a defendant in cases, even murder cases, do not have to attend their own trial. neither does raffaele sollecito, italian citizen studying in italy, he doesn't have to attend the trial either. that's a point of law. the reason that they were in attendance at the original trial in the appeal, though, is because she was vieds a flight risk. she's not here now. she's not going to have to come back anytime soon if at all. >> talk about this concept of double jeopardy here in the united states because, of course in italy you can be tried twice for the same crime. that's not the case for an american. would there be any circumstance in which she would actually have to face those charges again, and the u.s. would be forced to send her back to italy? >> that's always an open question. i would think it would be highly doubtful, and here's why. we abide by a constitution and this is a country that values human ri

italy is paralyzed by a postcode stalemate just when it needs a reliable government more than amber. the don't need to count be paid for at the current economics of the italian system we've got some projections on where the coalition chaos could lead the already struggling your that's coming up shortly. although the sequester kicks in taking a chainsaw to america's economy with eighty five billion dollars and potentially hundreds of thousands of job jobs to be cut thanks to republican and democrat baker . the first after more than a thousand days of waiting u.s. soldier bradley manning got to tell the world why he expose classified military data to wiki leaks on thursday he confessed to some of the lesser charges against him which carry a twenty year jail sentence but prosecutors are plowing on to get a conviction of aiding the enemy were important i had allen manning's reasons for risking everything by going public. guilty but not sorry more than one thousand days after his arrest u.s. army private bradley manning admitted to being the source behind the largest leak of classified in

so italy could, he says, ask the u.s. to extradite her. >> that doesn't mean the united states is necessarily going to extradite her. there will likely ensue a fevered dialogue between justice ministry officials in italy and department of state lawyers, maybe department of justice lawyers, possibly even to head off a formal extradition request. >> reporter: in other words, a diplomatic end action ultimately a political solution. but amanda knox's attorney is hoping any new trial would end up with the same verdict, acquittal. >> there's no reason to believe that any further review will result any differently. keep in mind, there was no physical evidence against her, and anything that was reviewed was considered unreliable, inaccurate, insubstantial. >> reporter: now, italian courts have convicted americans in absentia. that means they weren't in the courtroom in italy. but the most recent case, in fact, is cia agents who kidnapped a terror suspect. they're free. they're in the united states, but if they return to europe, t

italy. look at that 5.03. will this be the day that spain falls below 5%? that spread is still holding at about 38 basis points for now. >> and on the currency markets, euro/dollar, firmer today as you might expect. 1.3065. we hit that sort of low last week on friday. 1 is.2966. the three-month low. sterling/dollar is slightly strong, as well, held up by better than expected services pmi which we just received some six minutes or so ago. dollar/yen, 0.9377. >>> european finance ministers have agreed to push for a bailout for cypress. to get the cash through, the country's newly elected government agreed to an independent audit of its banking system to make sure it comply wes international laws on money laundering. cypress's finance minister wouldn't be drawn on which officials pushed hardest for the you a udit. >> for us, a depositor is a depositor. nt does not matter where they came from. they have deposited their money into our banking system and they should have treated with respect. it w

first to italy, where parliamentary elections are coming up. prime minister mario monti has imposed strict reforms, raised taxes and made it easier for companies to lay off employees, all part of an effort to get italy off the list of endangered eurozone countries. before he took office, italy was in bad economic shape, having lagged behind its economic neighbors for years, but italians are fed up with this strict past, and lately, support for the former premier, silvio berlusconi, has been on the rise again. >> it has been the same for 20 years -- the same music, the same fans, all this for silvio berlusconi. boosted by recent polls, he appears to be in splendid form and can even afford a touch of self-deprecating and. -- self-depredation. >> i took a look in the mirror before leaving the house and thought what a shame the old mirrors do not exist anymore. i always looked so handsome and young. >> that is what his fans like so much -- he always has a joke or an amusing anecdote. he is also good at making promises. >> do you want fewer taxes on

live outside italy. if you live in italy, you already see the benefit that the monti government has. people who live in italy, they're probably more concerned about their taxes that they're having and all the reforms. whereas if you live outside italy, you really see the credibility that was restored as far as monti. we have strong presidents in italy. being quite diversified, we try to push the issue of being a global country. i also want to make the point that the economy, especially in the northern part of italy, is very productive. and i think there is quite a number of businesses that are working very hard and thanks, of course, to those bonds. >> we wish you the best of luck with your business and hopefully things will settle down politically in italy. tim cosulich joining us. and it's sort of a measure of the kind of news here on the ground that even as we see negative political headlines and we see weakness in many global economic aggregates, there are plenty of business people here that feel tha

>>> plus, a bombshell announcement in italy. the highest court there wants amanda knox to stand trial for murder again. can she avoid it? >>> faa decides if electronic devices can be used on planes. could your life in the air about to be changed? we have a special report. let's go out front. >>> good evening, everyone. i'm erin burnett. cold feet on gay marriage. could the supreme court be having second thoughts of taking up the lightning rod issue? today protesters and gay rights supporters swarming the steps of the supreme court and inside the justices were listening to the arguments. bullet point by bullet point. for and against. california's ban on same-sex marriage. that's the so-called proposition 8. the justices have the power to make gay marriage the law of the land. currently, it's actually only the law in nine states and washington, d.c. if you go straight from that to all 50, well, that's a really big edict from the high court and some justices sounded wary of issuing such a broad ruling. >> on a question like that, o

the united states and italy have an extradition treaty. the united states has a history of not honoring all of the requests for extradition from italy. the mrooents of these involves cia agents who were convicted an ob sten shaw of kidnapping the streets of mal lan and bringing him to a country. they have repeatedly demanded the extradition of these federal agent and the united states said no. were she to go to an e uconn tree, not just italy but any country in the european union she could be arrested on the spot and delivered to italian prosecutors and confined until this case comes to pass again. she is still living on thin ice. i don't think she is in danger in the united states. >> she was originally sentenced to 26 years. 24r6z allott there was a lot of ternnal pressure on the judge. he showed a will from the very start to acquit some say. do you think that had anything to do with this? >> no. if you recall all of that, we all i guess about a year and a half ago picked through the evidence in this case with tremendous, tremendous deta

by 1400, this was the city-state that dominated central italy. but bankers and textile merchants were expanding their trading empires all over europe. over the next 100 years, an extraordinary interaction took place in florence-- the innovations of artists and architects, the excitement of rediscovering classical achievements, and the patronage of a wealthy commercial class. these key elements brought about a series of artistic and intellectual breakthroughs that came to be known as the renaissance-- literally the rebirth of learning and culture. in the church of santa croce, a series of frescoes painted around 1320 were to have a revolutionary effect on florentine painting. here, the great merchant families competed with one another to commission the leading artists to decorate their chapels. in the chapel of the bardi family, professor john white of university college, london, describes how these medieval images came to life. this is a franciscan church, and the franciscans were the passionate preachers of the late medieval world. they used the

a bombshell of italy's supreme court. it wants amanda knox, the former american exchange student, to stand trial for murder again. you may remember she spent four years in jail for the murder of her roommate. prosecutors claim the roommate was killed after a drug-fueled sex game gone wrong. so, will she be going back to italy and jail? "out front" wendy murphy and anne bremner who worked on the case for four years. anne, i want to start with you. you know amanda and her family. she put out a statement saying no matter what happens, my family an i will face this continuing legal battle as we always have. confident in the truth and with our heads held high in the face of wrongful accusations and unreasonable adversity. what are they going to do now? >> you know, it's stunning. you know, it was unimaginable -- you couldn't imagine it yesterday but what they have to do is gear up for a fight in italy again. they have two lawyers in italy go and defend the case again and look in to extradition and extradition lawyers and i hav

then, italy try to extradite her. in the newsroom, i'm arturo santiago, "today in the bay." >>> time now to check the forecast as meteorologist, christina loren, everyone should keep the umbrella handy. >> specially if you are a fine dresser like these two lovely ladies i get to sit next to. it is looking good so far this morning. thick fog. it could be much worse as you know. we are known for our fog here in the bay area. the only place with less than .025 visibility. metropolitan cities are looking pretty good. santa rosa, half a mile visibility up there. we are down to a quarter mile. improving a little bit there. a couple of systems headed our way. the first arrives as we head through tonight. the subtropical air stays in place as your temperatures aren't going to drop off all that much. as we head through the next few days. a little bit of a warmup with two areas of low pressure. with these systems, you will find some air in the areas that do pick up the precipitation. where are we expecting the rain. mostly up i