Italy's Berlusconi says S&P move does not reflect reality

Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said on Tuesday that Standard & Poor's decision to downgrade its unsolicited ratings on Italy did not reflect reality and said his government was already preparing measures to spur growth.



"The assessments by Standard & Poors seem dictated more by newspaper stories than by reality and appear to be negatively influenced by political considerations," Berlusconi said in a statement on Tuesday.

He added that his government had already approved measures to balance the budget in 2013 and was preparing growth boosting measures that aimed to bear fruit in the short to medium term.