Italian strikes dent confidence

Italian consumer confidence fell to its lowest in more than a decade in May as strikes fuelled concern about job security and the pace of the recovery in the euro- region’s third-biggest economy.

An index based on a survey of 2,000 households by the Rome- based Isae Institute fell to 97.1, the lowest since November 1993, from a revised 101.6 in April. The 22-year-old survey touched a record low of 93.7 in April 1993.

The two-week confidence survey began on May 3, days after a wildcat strike at Alitalia over management’s plan to fire 3,000 workers.