Italy's debt woes worsen despite Berlusconi pledge to step down
November 9, 2011
latimesblogs.latimes.com
REPORTING FROM ROME -- Italy’s debt problems worsened Wednesday as the nation’s borrowing costs soared to a new record, past the 7% threshold that analysts say is unsustainable and puts the world’s eighth-largest economy at increasing risk of insolvency and in need of a bailout.
The unexpectedly sharp jump in the Italian 10-year bond yield came despite Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s pledge Tuesday that he would resign after the Parliament passed a package of measures to reduce the government’s big debt load.
Analysts had hoped that financial markets would take some comfort in Berlusconi’s promise, given that he had become a focal point for Italy’s troubles and the Eurozone’s debt crisis.
But not only was there no rally, stock markets in Europe tumbled, sending Wall Street sharply lower on early trading. Analysts said that even with Berlusconi’s promise, it wasn’t a clean and decisive departure –- and in some ways made it more apparent that Rome may not have the political capacity to push through tough austerity measures needed to get its finances in order.
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Full story: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/world_now/2011/11/italy-debt-crisis-berlusconi.html
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