The value of Italian bonds borrowed by investors in order to wager on a price drop reached 2008 levels.
To put it in a less technocratic manner, hedge funds are betting on Italian government bonds, as they see the country’s economic problems growing, due to the hike in the price of natural gas and the political uncertainty caused by the fall of Mario Draghi’s political coalition and elections in September.
Italy’s future appears dim. The IMF has already warned that if Russian President Vladimir Putin cuts off gas supplies, the economy will shrink by over five percent.
Meanwhile, the interest rate hike decided by the ECB will make the country even more vulnerable.
It would be wrong to assume that the aforementioned difficulties concern only Rome.
If there is one thing that the European debt crisis has taught us, the hard way, is that if one eurozone member-state is under attack from the markets, all of them are in danger in the end.
The energy crisis, combined with recession, can lead to a further devaluation of the euro.
The messages from the markets are already very negative. The alarm bell can be heard not only in Rome, but in every European capital.
That is why Athens must not ignore it.
The shock wave from an explosion of Italian debt will reach us more easily if our own public debt remains high.
