Wherever one goes these days, the talk is money. But even in the midst of recession there are encouraging signs of financial life. Although the GNP is expected to hit a minus 1.8% by year end, the statistics-gathering agency Istat has just predicted a 0.7% rise for 2014. Elsewhere too there are positive notes. Says Economics Minister Fabrizio Saccomani, "We won't be growing like China, but we will have a sustainable growth level of around 2% a year." This is the background for the forthcoming debate in Parliament of the Letta cabinet's proposed budget, the so-called "Stability Law."