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It has been suggested that Italy leave the Eurozone until it has sorted out its own failings, but that is not likely to be an option for a country on the verge of collapse. Its people won't likely choose to take their leaky rafts out into an unstable sea alone. They would surely sink. The country's 12% unemployment rate should be a clear indication to the world that things are not alright in a country fraught with devastating economic prospects. UniCredit approved a rights issue in February to sell shares at discount. As one of Italy's largest lenders, UniCredit began...

On April 12, in one of the easiest financial predictions in history, I challenged the notion that a €5 billion slush fund dubbed “Atlas” could possibly prop up €360 Billion of non-performing loans in Italian banks. Less than a month later, “Atlas” is already a notable failure. I seek no credit for my call, and none is due. Failure was a certainty from the start. Instead, I question the sanity of anyone who thought such a preposterous scheme could work in the first place. Please consider Atlas Strains to Hold up the Sky Over Italy’s Banking Sector. “A government-orchestrated, privately...

Here are a couple of interesting economic links from Italy courtesy of reader Andrea. The translations from Italian are a bit choppy, but the gist of the articles is easily understandable. Non-Performing Loans Jump 15.3%, Write-Downs 21.6% From Thompson Financial News: Non-Performing Loans Jump 15.3% Non-performing loans amounted to approximately 117.6 billion, 1.8 billion more 'than in August and 15.6 billion in more' than in September 2011, marking an annual increase of 15.3%. With regard to loans net of write-downs at the end of September totaled 67.2 billion, about 1.5 billion more 'than a month before and almost 12 billion...

The rise of the Five Star Movement in Italy is the number one happening in Europe right now and mainstream media has not even begun to cover it in any depth. The movement is led by an Italian comedian, Beppe Grillo. Main Rules for the Five Star Movement Not be an elected politician prior to 5 Stelle Commit to stay in charge for no longer than 2 termsCommit to take a minimum salary and give the rest back to the communityPost a public platform on the internet Be willing to hold a public debate on the platform Beppe Grillo's personal...

The latest warning signs are, once again, popping up in Europe and should be taken seriously, as it is only a matter of time before such events play out in the rest of the world, including right here at home: Via Adiconsum Italia – Translated via Google BNI depositors unable to make withdrawals / payments, payments of utility bills, mortgage payments, taxes Peter Giordano, Adiconsum: “Grave of the Bank of Italy’s attitude that takes action without considering the impact on depositors, and especially on single-income families and pensioners” The Bank of Italy authorized the suspension of payments by Bank Network...

BNI depositors unable to make withdrawals / payments, payments of utility bills, mortgage payments, taxes Peter Giordano, Adiconsum: "Grave of the Bank of Italy's attitude that takes action without considering the impact on depositors, and especially on single-income families and pensioners" Adiconsum Bank of Italy asks for an urgent meeting and the lifting of the The Bank of Italy authorized the suspension of payments by Bank Network Investments SpA (BNI) without communicating anything to the depositors.

I don't often put stories in "breaking." I post vanities even less often. Hardly anything surprises me any longer, but I find this absolutely astounding. If you follow the financial threads or the situation in Europe, you really need to read this. Actually anyone with a bank account needs to read this. I'm going to ask the mods to leave this here, unless they really feel I'm all wet here. I don't, however, believe I am. Follow me here. BNI (Bank Network Investments) is Italy's oldest and forth largest bank. In other words, it's a biggie. Anyway, the bank went...

Global stock and bond markets suffered a rout as traders fled the renewed spectre of a eurozone default and fresh evidence of a global recession. Italy's leading MIB index plunged 5pc and Spain's Ibex fell 3pc amid fears that the eurozone's third and fourth biggest economies were in the grip of a deadly and uncontrollable spiral of debt and recession. The borrowing costs of both "sinner states" soared. The yield on Italy's benchmark 10-year bonds jumped to 5.7pc, heading into the danger zone that is considered unsustainably high. The equivalent Spanish debt climbed to 6pc. Meanwhile, the yield on safe-haven...

Another month, another blow for Italy. Industrial orders fell 7.4pc in January, according to ISTAT. Domestic orders fell 7.6pc. Output fell 4.9pc, as you can see from this chart: This follows the release of construction data on Friday showing a 10.9pc fall in output. This debacle was entirely predicted by monetary data six to nine months ago, as you can see: The M3 money data is at last improving very slightly (ie, it is collapsing less fast) but M1 is falling ever faster. We’ll see how that plays out. I wish premier Mario Monti all the best. He is one...

Italy Is Closer To Collapse Than Anyone Realized, And So Is The World Bruce Krasting, My Take On Financial Events Nov. 27, 2011, 1:29 PM Some stories in European press (La Stampa - Zero Hedge link) suggest that Italy is working on a very big loan package from the IMF. I have no doubt that there are ongoing discussions. There has to be. Either someone puts a finger in the dike or Italy goes tapioca. That thought is difficult for me to fathom. How could we be so close to the brink? At this point there is zero possibility that...

Not on even a Sunday is the headline barrage over: MARIO MONTI ASKED TO FORM NEW ITALIAN GOVERNMENT MONTI TO MAKE COMMENTS AFTER ACCEPTING OFFER TO LEAD ITALY MARIO MONTI THANKS NAPOLITANO FOR OFFER TO FORM GOVERNMENT MARIO MONTI SAYS ITALY MUST BE PROTAGONIST IN EUROPE MARIO MONTI SAYS HE'LL ACT TO SAVE ITALY FROM CRISIS And so the international advisor to Goldman Sachs drones on. In the meantime, the €300 billion in BTP sales is set to resume in just over 13 hours. Yet the reason why the EURUSD is less than jubilant on the news is that Silvio...