"Italy Bond Attack Breaches Euro DefensesBy Simon KennedyThe...

"Italy Bond Attack Breaches Euro Defenses

By Simon Kennedy

The euro-region’s defenses are being breached.

Investors yesterday propelled Italy’s 10-year bond yield to close at a euro-era high of 7.25 percent after the promised exit of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi failed to convince them that his country can slash Europe’s second-largest debt burden.

The biggest signal yet that the single currency’s third- largest economy is falling prey to its two-year debt crisis forces German Chancellor Angela Merkel, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi and their peers to decide just how far they’re willing to go to defend the euro.

“The market is testing the commitment of the euro zone’s stewards,” said Eric Chaney, Paris-based chief economist at insurer AXA SA and a former official in the French Finance Ministry. “Italy is the real crisis battleground.”

At 1.9 trillion euros ($2.6 trillion), Italy’s debt exceeds that of Greece, Spain, Portugal and Ireland combined, though unlike those nations, it has systemic importance as the world’s third-largest bond market and eighth-biggest economy. Berlusconi’s offer to quit has still left his nation struggling to produce a government stable enough to deliver austerity after LCH Clearnet SA raised the deposit it demands for trading Italian securities.

‘Ugly’ Outlook

“While Italy is considered too big to fail, she may be too big to save unless there is a major change of attitude towards resolving the crisis,” said John Higgins, an economist at Capital Economics Ltd. in London. “Things could be about to turn very ugly.”

The full read is at http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-11-09/italy-bond-attack-breaches-euro-s-defenses-as-region-s-contagion-worsens.html

My comments:

This chaos is ultimately very positive for gold.

However, the question I would like answered is who is attacking the Italian bond market and so making the cost of capital for a badly indebted Italy so much dearer?

Is it massive hedge funds? If so, who?

Is it banksters? If so, who?

Whoever it is, why are they freely allowed to attack a nation's ability to raise capital without being named? Why are they allowed to carry out these massive attacks under the guise of being called "Investors" or "the market."

It's about time they were clearly named so the whole world knows who is effectively attacking the financial system for their own personal gains - and to hell for the rest of us.