CHANDLER, Arizona (Reuters) ? Italy is making difficult but necessary choices to get its economy in order, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Tuesday, but he added Italy must move quickly to persuade global markets they will follow through.
"I think they're making progress," Geithner told reporters who questioned him about developments in Italy and Greece after he toured a building site for a new Intel Corp manufacturing plant.
"It's not as fast as the world needs, but they're making progress and we're doing everything that we can to encourage them to move more quickly and where we can help them, we're going to help them," he added.
Geithner had no specific suggestions as to how the United States might help Italy.
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi agreed on Tuesday to step down as soon as parliament passes urgent budget reforms demanded by European leaders after Italy was sucked into epicenter of the euro zone debt crisis.
"Italy is making some very tough choices and they need a little more support from the rest of Europe to make those work over time," Geithner said, referring to proposed new austerity measures seen as necessary to try to get the country's budget deficits under control.
Yields on Italy's 10-year benchmark bonds rose to 6.79 percent on Tuesday -- a level not seen since 1997 -- before dropping back. Analysts say Italy is nearing the point at which Portugal, Greece and Ireland had been forced to seek a bailout.
Geithner, who attended a Group of 20 leaders' meeting in France last week, said Europe was in the process of developing comprehensive proposals to strengthen the region's finances and help Greece and Italy make needed reforms.
"They need to make sure those plans are put in place quickly," he added.
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