For those thinking Italy won't be bailed out (trust us, QE WILL continue to INFINITY...AND BEYOND!!) perhaps you should view this Reuters graph of European bank exposure to Italy, per BIS data as of June 2011.
(Hint- we bet Merkel and Sarkozy are both very familiar with this information)
Yup, France and Germany's combined exposure to Italy is well over 1/2 TRILLION DOLLARS!
MAMA MIA!!
