Italian Bonds Don't Have History on Their Side
Using the euro zone sovereign debt crisis era as a base, it looks as though the nation is very close to losing the confidence of international investors.
Winter has arrived for Italy’s bond market.
Photographer: Vincenzo Pinto/AFP
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Italian bonds have taken another lurch downward as investors respond with deepening concern to the latest political developments. It is common to appeal for calm by pointing out that although investors are demanding ever higher yields on Italian bonds relative to German bunds -- the best financial measure of Italy’s perceived political risk -- they are still nowhere near the levels reached during the worst of the euro zone sovereign debt crisis in 2011.