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After losing the majority in the Italian parliament, Silvio Berlusconi has signaled that he will in fact step down after the country passes an ambitious austerity budget. Stocks in Milan surged on the news.
As night covers Europe, markets worldwide are hoping the lights stay on in Rome. A colorful figure, Italy’s Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi holds responsibility for shepherding his country through the EU-demanded reforms, to be monitored by the IMF.
If you are wondering what flipped emerging markets currencies from being too strong for their governments’ comfort to the recent massive retreat, point a finger at the euro zone.
Italian, French and Austrian banks are plunging again today as traders digest a confession from the European Central Bank that a solution to the region’s credit woes may not be as easy as anyone hoped.
As the shadow of sovereign credit contagion passes back over Hungary, banks that do a lot of business in the country are weighing their exposure to another cycle of downgrade and possible default.
Major stock benchmarks in Europe sank to their lowest levels in over a year this morning as fear over a default in the euro zone and a global recession continued to grip the markets.
Last week saw contagion fears rise sharply in the Eurozone as Italy emerged at center stage of the European debt drama.
Between yet another bad day for Italian bonds and the looming release of stress test scores, European banks are boosting their cash reserves — and in some cases, traders are applauding.
Now that European central bankers have all but admitted Greece may need to default on its debt after all, traders are headed for the doors in Spain and Italy.
Once again, the tone in the European credit markets reflects anything but relief that Greece has been saved. More pressure on Italian banks in particular.
