Today's five cents worth!
Comments from Simon Black column on Zero Hedge.

What’s funny is that the 20-year average of Italian 10-year bond yields since 1993 is 5.9%. They’re currently priced at 6.06%. Italian bond yields aren’t spiking, they’re just reverting to the mean. The real spike hasn’t happened yet.

Italy is in such dismal shape that having to borrow funds at ‘average’ rates is going to push it into insolvency… the government can only limp along if it can borrow at absurdly low rates that don’t even keep pace with inflation.
Perhaps more than anything, this shows how truly broken the system has become… and what a colossal failure the experiment has been.
Of course, before things completely break down, they’ll resort to the same old tactics that bankrupt governments have relied on in the past–outright confiscation of wealth, capital controls, and financial repression.
It’s already happening across the continent, in fact.
In Greece, the government is helping itself to people’s savings at will, in their sole discretion… and forcing businesses to ‘prove’ the tax purity of their funds.
In Italy, the government has colluded with several banks (like BNI) to freeze customers out of their accounts with no warning or explanation.
ATM limits are being imposed at many banks across the continent, and Euro leaders are openly discussing more severe controls to stem potential capital flight.
The conclusion to draw from all of this is clear: finance the government, save the banks, screw the people. This reality, coming soon to a western civilization near you.
This article was written by Simon Black and originally published at Zero Hedge