MILAN, Italy -
Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's government sought to reassure Italians about the strength of their financial institutions after Italy's largest bank, Unicredit, lost nearly one-quarter of its value this week and other Italian banks and companies took significant hits.
Berlusconi said he would not allow speculative attacks on Italian banks, as Unicredit shares were suspended from trading repeatedly Wednesday for excessive losses.
Unicredit shares recovered and rose 11.2 percent to close at 2.89 euros ($4.07) on Wednesday. Its stock market value is about 36.9 billion euros ($53 billion).
