We’ve seen this movie before. Italian government 10-year bond yields have reached a euro-era record of 6.7%—a level from which no other peripheral euro-zone country’s bond market has recovered. Increased European Central Bank bond-buying—last week’s purchases were double those of the week before—have failed to halt the slide in prices. European banks are dumping Italian bonds at a loss and being rewarded by the market. Given the lack of adequate bailout facilities, many now argue that only an unequivocal commitment from the ECB to act as a lender of last resort by signaling its willingness to buy unlimited quantities of debt can prevent Italy’s debt crisis from spiraling out of control.
via Heard on the Street: Don’t Bank on the ECB to Save Italy – WSJ.com.
