Caduta di Roma?

Fall of Rome?

I’ve been relatively sanguine about Italy, in a depressed sort of way: the debt level is high, but the deficits have been fairly modest, so I thought the Italians could limp along for a long time.

I may have been wrong:

Italy 10-year

This could get very interesting, in the worst sense. The chances of a real euro breakup (as opposed to one or more small peripheral economies falling off) are still small, but no longer negligible.

Update: That’s the interest rate on Italian 10-year bonds.

July 11, 2011, 8:01 am