Italy's President Mattarella asked Tria not to resign - Reuters

Several Italian newspapers carried a story on Friday, citing that the Italian President Sergio Mattarella had asked Finance Minister Giovanni Tria not to resign in order to avoid market uncertainty, Reuters reports.

On Wednesday, the government announced a budget deficit target of 2.4% for the next three years. In contrast, Tria wanted a deficit set as low as 1.6% next year.