S&P says does not expect Italy to seek EU, IMF help

ROME (Reuters) - Ratings agency Standard & Poor's said on Monday it did not expect Italy to request financial aid from the International Monetary Fund or the European Union, due to the "absence of significant imbalances."

In an explanatory note issued after it cut its ratings outlook on Italy to "negative" from "stable" on Saturday, S&P said the "sheer size" of Italy's public debt would make it very hard for the international community to bail it out effectively.