1.   Funds made money in April betting the lira would rise against the dollar following the parliamentary victory in late April of an Italian center-left coalition.

2.   In other trading, the Italian lira rose to its highest level in almost a year against the mark after Antonio Maccanico was named prime minister.

3.   The lira rose against the deutsche mark in trading between a handful of Italian banks that were open Sunday night.

4.   The lira rose to its strongest against the German mark since September and its strongest since August against the U.S. dollar.

5.   The Italian lira immediately rose on the news.

6.   The Rome bourse stabilised and the lira rose significantly Thursday as financial markets reacted positively to the resignation of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.

7.   The Italian lira rose again against the mark as the Italian Senate approved the reform of Italian retirement benefits.

8.   The lira rose in respnse to an agreement on Wednesday between the Italian government, employers and trades unions on reform of part of the pension system.

9.   The lira rose very slightly against the mark.

10.   The lira had risen sharply on the election of Silvio Berlusconi to power.