It Feels Like 2012 Again as Europe Markets Shudder on Italy
- Portuguese, Italian, Greek bond yields surge; stocks drop
- The euro slips to 10-month low and currency havens gain
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It looks like the debt crisis days of 2012 all over again for investors, as Italian, Portuguese and Greek bond yields surged and billionaire George Soros warned of an “existential threat” to the European Union.
The trigger was the prospect of anti-EU, nationalist parties in Italy turning a repeat election into a de facto referendum on Italy’s membership of the euro. Italian assets sank across the board Tuesday, with the risk premium on 10-year bonds over German benchmarks rising to the biggest in almost five years.