HERE WE GO AGAIN: NOW ITALY'S CREDIT RATING IS SLASHED

ITALY'S CREDIT RATING SLASHED.

THIS WHOLE EURO CRISIS IS LIKE DEATH BY THOUSAND CUTS....

WHEN WILL IT END? WHEN THE EU COLLAPSES.

AND THAT WILL BE A GOOD THING.

8PM UPDATE:

The European debt problems that have roiled global financial markets for the last 18 months are showing signs of turning into a far deeper challenge: Europe’s second recession in three years.

Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Spain are already in downturns or fighting to avoid them, as high unemployment and austerity belt-tightening take their toll. But in the last few weeks, even prosperous Germany and France, the Continent’s powerhouses, have started to be dragged down, hurt by the ebbing of business orders from indebted countries in the rest of Europe.

European stocks continued their latest plunge on Tuesday, as the German financial giant Deutsche Bank, buffeted by the debt crisis, reduced its profit forecast for the year. Investors were also jolted by news that the French-Belgian investment bank Dexia might be the region’s first large bank to need a government rescue as a result of the current debt crisis.

ASIAN MARKETS WILL OPEN WAY DOWN...

THEN BRACE YOURSELVES...